I did a web seminar yesterday to learn how to make a family history book through Ancestry Press. You don't need a paid subscription to make one. You just have to register an account for access to it. I also learned that if you already have ancestry and a family tree on it, the program will auto generate a book and you can edit it to customize it with your own pictures and stories. All pictures you load onto the book are private (not publically viewable) unless you also have them on your public ancestry tree. The book is about $29 for up to 100 pages.

This sounds interesting. How long did it take to do the seminar? What else can you tell us about it? Does it teach you anything? More details please since I'm always looking for new projects! lol

Well, I think the seminar was a one time live webcast. It was last night. However, I think if you go to ancestrypress.ancestry.com that there is a tutorial. The book can be based on a pedigree chart of one person or a couple. They don't have a descendant tree based book yet. It generates pages with a time line, tree, family group sheets, census pages, etc...If you have ancestry, you can use all of your historical docs. saved to your tree. Then you can add your own pictures. They also have built in templates, backgrounds, and embellishments. You can also use images or postcards, maps, etc... from ancestry's image library. They mentioned using the Library of Congress' for public domain pics. They have recipe templates too so you can make family recipe pages. You can add text by cutting and pasting it from a Word doc.

The software that I use to keep my genealogical database, Legacy Family Tree, includes a powerful function, the Publishing Center, that allows you to
create professional-looking books by assembling the various reports and charts available in Legacy into one single document. This can include ancestor and descendant book reports, pedigree charts, family group records, picture scrapbooks and much more. You can also add a table of contents, other introductory sections and an overall index and list of source citations.

You can preview the book on the screen and then create a PDF, HTML, or Rich Text File.

These both sound great. The new LDS site has some new features too that includes this sort of thing. I would love to do one of these books for my Dad for Christmas but am holding out for that elusive picture and perhaps a contact with stories. This type of book would make a fabulous gift for my Aunts and Uncles too.

I use MyHeritage, sounds like it performs the same functions as Livio's. Very easy to use and edit.

Here is the link to see a replay of the webseminar: w.on24.com/r.htm?e=966...9E455B9215

Once my websites are moved, I plan on making a book for my dad for Christmas. I want to assemble a timeline so I can tell a story. With so many cousins, it is difficult to figure out but it seems like most of his cousins immigrated to other countires before him. I do have immigration dates for many of them but my information is all over the place! Do any of these programs allow you to run reports or input this type of information so it can be assembled in one place? I only use the LDS software so I am looking to buy software. I want to choose the one that will fit my need best. With close to 1,000 people in my tree it's getting confusing.
Thanks.

The software I use does that. It's free, you might want to download it and take a look. Way easier and more functions than the software LDS provides. Livio's sounds the same as mine, you may want to check out both of them. I use MyHeritage Family Tree Builder and I love it.

I just wanted to add that I read the FINE print on ancestry press. The book is about $29 for 24 pages. Every page thereafter is .39 a page. The page limit is 100 pages.