"Relatives" genealogical visualization software is intended for preparation and presentation of genealogic trees and storage of genealogic information in files.

Main features:

1. The basic idea to which the author aspired in the "Relatives" program was to make the representation of a family tree evident, navigation on it convenient, and the process of its creation simple. While the program is suitable for use by amateurs and beginners in genealogy, it is a fully functional tool for professional genealogists.
2. The program completely supports the GEDCOM ver. 5.5 format that is de-facto the industry standard of storage of genealogic information.
   The program data structure
3. The program shows connections between relatives as a descending tree. Each person is represented by a rectangular frame with three lines of text containing first name, surname and lifespan. Gender is differentiated by color. Husbands are linked to wives by lines under frames, while siblings are linked by lines above frames. Parent-child links are vertical lines.
4. The genealogic tree can be scaled for viewing at any range, from a view of the tree in its entirety to close details. When viewing a large section of the tree, the special Magnifier will allow you to see parts of the tree in 1:1 scale.
   Scaling
   Magnifier
5. Using either a mouse or cursor keys, you can select and drag individual frames or groups of frames. The frames can then be aligned horizontally and vertically, evenly distributed, swapped, deleted, copied, cut and pasted. Double clicking on a frame shows the information window about the person.
   How to select persons and families
   Menu "View" - "Align..."
   Menu "View" - "Distribute..."
   Menu "View" - "Swap"
   Menu "Edit": Copy, Cut, Delete; Dropdown menu "Paste"
   Information window
6. Data can be stored in the software's proprietary format (*.rel), as well as exported to GEDCOM 5.5 (*.ged). without any loss of tree layout information. The program can also import data from GEDCOM 5.5 (*.ged) files.
   Menu "File" - "Open/Save"
   Import from GEDCOM 5.5 files
   Export to GEDCOM 5.5 files
7. Export is available to an HTML page, to a GIF image or Scalable Vector Graphics embedded in an HTML page making it possible to put your family trees on the Internet.
   Export to HTML
   Export to GIF in HTML
   Export to SVG in HTML
8. The tree can be printed out in any size and on a variety of printers, from wide-format plotters to consumer-level printers - squeeze up the whole tree into one Letter-sized page or spread it out over thousands of them.
   "Print" Dialog
9. The complete list of persons and families in the tree can be shown in separate "list windows". You can view information about each item in any list, edit it, delete the item or get its location on the screen. The list of "shared records" is available as well.
   Menu "View" - "Persons' List"
   Menu "View" - "Families' List"
   Menu "View" - "Shared Records"
   Menu "View" - "Header"
10. The special Pedigree window is used to show a person's lineage. The pedigree can be viewed in horizontal or vertical layout with any number of generations of ancestors/descendants and saved in a file.
    Pedigree window
    Popup Menu
11. The special Editor is used to edit tree elements such as header, persons, families and shared records. The "header" editor can be invoked from the main menu. For persons and families, the editor is selected from the corresponding "list", and for "persons", the editor is selected from the dropdown menu that appears when the person's frame is clicked using the right-hand mouse button.
    Editing of Header
    Editing of a person
    Editing of a family
    Editing of a shared record
12. To find a person, a family or a record you can use search dialogs. The "Search" option in the "Edit" menu allows the user to look up a main record's elements such as first or last name, dates, notes and links. The "Advanced Search" option performs the same function, but on any of the record's elements.
    Menu "Edit" - "Search"
    Menu "Edit" - "Advanced Search"
13. The expanded support of so-called "user defined tags" is implemented in the "Relatives" software. You can create and edit your own tags in the special User tag Editor. User tags data is saved in the files and in GEDCOM files as well.
    Menu "Edit" - "User defined tags"

About GEDCOM 5.5 full support:
All GEDCOM tags are supported except one - embedded media files (tag OBJE). Though the other form of the same tag "linked OBJE" is supported completely and even in more expanded meaning. Why the author threw over "embedded OBJE"? It was obvious from the beginning that the idea to store mediadata inside the files was wrong and no one genealogical software (even of creator the GEDCOM format) never supported this tag. Links to external files (like in HTML) is much more convinient, simpler and more effective.

About GEDCOM 6.0 (aka GEDCOM XML) support:
There was quite long time passed from the moment, when GEDCOM 6.0 draft-version was published in 2002, but no genealogical software supporting this format was released (at least the author knows no one). Even the creators of the format, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, didn't release a computer program able to work with GEDCOM XML. Moreover, they practically left genealogical software developers without any support and do not answer any requests about their format for long time already.
The GEDCOM 6.0, though proposes more up-to-date method to store data, has even more shortcomings than its predecessor, GEDCOM 5.5.
The author do not plan supporting 6.0 version, but, if this format will get a circulation it can be supported.

About GEDCOM file import:
As is known, GEDCOM files contain no graphic information, i.e. such which allows to arrange elements of a tree that they look beautifully, logically and conveniently for navigation. This program makes automatic tree arrangement at import. It is necessary to tell, that the complete solution of this problem for any genealogic trees with their enormous variety of related communications is practically unsoluble and even scientists-mathematicians and experts in graph theory recognize it. The algorithm of the given program (still, certainly, rather imperfect) manages to arrange imported trees correctly in most cases, however almost any file after import needs "manual finish" by the mouse. For small files (less than thousand persons) it is not a hard work, but for bigger, especially if relations in a tree are not quite usual (marriages between close relatives or inter-generations ones, for example marriage of an uncle and a niece, or if there are just mistakes) that arrangement of such tree can be not trivial task and can require many hours. As a consolation that such arrangement itself is rather fun (like a solitaire!), and beside that these are YOUR near and dear ones...
The program has a few functions to help in such work - single and group dragging by the mouse, Swap command, various types of alignments. At export to GEDCOM file the arrangement information is saved in the file, therefore manual arrangement should be done only once, at the very first import.

About the "expanded" support of the user tags:
An attempt to define user tags (in other words, new types of data) was first undertaken in GEDCOM version 5.3 (SCHEMA tag), however, by version 5.5 the authors abandoned this idea because, they explained, "it is too complex and premature to be implemented successfully into current products". In the "Relatives" program the user tags are supported, and if such tags are defined in a SCHEMA tag in a GEDCOM file they are imported and can then be edited in the special User Tags Editor. The SCHEMA tag itself remains hidden from the user. The "expanded" support refers to additional attributes that more clearly describe user tags as new types of data, improving their use.