Kinship Editor

We are all related somehow and throughout the years we gathered different kinds of data to analyze behavior in an attempt to create a database and potentially increase life comfort. Now, with the help of specialized computer applications like Kinship Editor, anyone can create and view different relationships and how these were affected by various circumstances.

The application comes in a pretty light package, requiring no installation to function. This means you can take it with you on a removable storage device and work on other computers as well, but you need to make sure the target machine is equipped with Java Runtime Environment because it's built on this platform.

On the visual side of things, the first impression might make you look for alternatives, but if this doesn't, a little time spent snooping through the set of features surely will. A compact main window is split into two sections, one with a few input fields for person details, while graphical representation is shown in the rest of the space.

It might seem a little confusing at first and trying to open files creates a little more of it. There's no telling what formats can be loaded by looking at the open dialog, so we're taking the liberty of specifying that it works with all kinds of kinship data, as long as they're XML, and the same goes for saving.

The easiest way to start off is to create several individuals in the canvas. A normal click reveals the context menu fitted with a few choices for male, female, neuter and union. Displayed in different geometrical shapes for easy identification, these can be dragged over the workspace, but there aren't any other elements to enhance the visual design.

Input fields can be filled in at any given time. However, these represent object parameters so it's best you first create the diagram and select each object to write corresponding details. Not a lot of info is up for display. You can only specify birth and death year, name, and comments, while interactions between individuals is a thing you can create.

All things considered, we come to the conclusion that Kinship Editor is far from achieving the goals it comes with. This is because of poor visuals and interface that makes accommodation a hard time, while the depth of details and interactions you are given control of leave a lot more to be desired. Moreover, import and export options seem to contribute to the almost complete destruction of practicality.