This program was installed and run on a 486SX system with 4meg RAM and running Win 3.11.
Installing the program was easy, but when I tried to run it, I received an error code not covered in the book. A quick call to the 800 number for customer service (very friendly and easy to reach), and the problem was resolved and the program was up and running.
Start with any family member, and you can add information on that person or branch out in either direction. Once filled in, the program will display the tree in any of several formats, including but not limited to ancestor or descendent tree. There is room for the basic name, location and important dates, as well as misc facts and a place for general notes about each entry. There is even a protocol for entering nick names, two name last names, and for those with only one name. Assign someone to the wrong part of the tree?. Family ties has the option of moving an entry and all of its date with a few clicks, so you don't have to retype all that data. Don't know all the information? Just put in what you have and add to it later. As a bare minimum, you only need a first or last name per person to branch out.
The documentation includes how to gather information and includes names, addresses, and phone numbers for reference groups in each of the 50 states, for those who want to do a thorough job of getting a full family tree. Also, GEDCOM files can be imported and exported.
Family trees can be easily customized and printed out, and the help screens really do. I had never bothered much with researching my family tree, but I have to admit, this is fun.