Installing and Getting Started

Overview

System Requirements

64-bit Mode
User Requirements

Save Your User Name and License Code

If You Purchased an Older Version of Reunion on a CD
What Gets Installed?

A Welcome Message

Upgrading

Overview

Reunion helps you to document, store, and display genealogy information — names, dates, places, facts, plenty of notes, sources of information, and multimedia items, such as pictures, sounds, and movies. Reunion displays family relationships in an elegant, graphic form. Best of all, people and families are linked and displayed in an easy-to-understand fashion.

Reunion automatically creates a variety of common genealogical reports, charts, forms, calendars, questionnaires, and many different sidebars and lists. It even calculates relationships and ages and links to maps of places. You can display, share, and print documents, including sharing on the web or via email. You can even take your family with you, using your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch.

Reunion also creates, displays, prints, and shares large, high-resolution, graphic charts (tree, timeline, and fan) allowing complete editing of chart objects and attributes on-screen. Wall charts for family reunions are one of its specialties.

System Requirements

To use this version of Reunion®, you will need...

To check your system version, choose About This Mac (from the Apple menu).

64-bit Mode

Reunion runs in 64-bit mode; however, unfortunately, some underlying Mac technologies no longer work in 64-bit apps. In Reunion, the 64-bit changes made in newer versions of macOS will create a few problems...

User Requirements

You should be familiar with the Mac interface, including these basic techniques:

If these are unfamiliar concepts, please use the Macintosh Help menu, seek assistance from a friend or consultant, check out resources online — such as tutorials on YouTube — or purchase a beginner's book.

Please understand that this manual will teach you to use Reunion — it does not teach you how to use the Mac.

Save Your User Name and License Code

When you purchased Reunion 14 from Leister Productions or from an authorized dealer, you have already become a registered user and you have been sent a "License Code" via email which is based on the "User Name" that you entered when purchasing Reunion. It's very important to save your User Name and License Code. You'll need this information the first time you use Reunion, and you'll need it if you get a new Mac.

There is really no need to make a backup copy of your Reunion app because you can always re-download the app from our web site. However, if you'd feel better having your own copy somewhere, then you may copy the installer file to another volume, for example another hard drive, USB thumb drive, etc.

If You Purchased an Old Version of Reunion on a CD...

If you previously purchased an old version of Reunion on a CD and now you've purchased Reunion 14 as an upgrade, there are a couple scenarios where you might need the old CD. However, if your new Mac doesn't have a CD drive, contact us for a license code.

The Tutorial

The tutorial of this manual will walk you through the steps of creating a new family file, adding people, entering information (which is stored in the family file), linking to multimedia items like pictures (which are stored elsewhere) and creating lists, reports, and charts.

clapboardClick here to watch a tutorial video on our web site.

What Gets Installed?

The following table identifies the key folders and files created by the Reunion installer.

File/Folder Name
Type
Path/Notes
Reunion 14
File
HardDrive/Applications
This is the Reunion application file.
Reunion Pictures
Folder
Home/Pictures
If you're upgrading from Reunion 8 or older, you can move your older Pictures folder(s) from inside your old Reunion folder to this folder. This folder is not required, i.e., you may store pictures and multimedia items anywhere.
Your preferred location for adding multimedia items is defined in the Folder Settings. The list of multimedia search locations is defined in the Multimedia Settings.
Reunion Settings
Folder
Home/Library/Application Support/Reunion/Preferences
This folder contains various settings files. If this folder is moved or renamed, a new one will be created.
Reunion Files
Folder
Home/Documents
This is the default location for family files and other items, described below. Your preferred location for opening/saving family files is defined in the Folder Settings.
Charts
Folder
Home/Documents/Reunion Files
This folder is used to store graphic chart files and contains one example chart.
This folder can be moved or renamed.
Your preferred location for opening/saving charts is defined in the Folder Settings.
Reports
Folder
Home/Documents/Reunion Files
This folder is used to store report files.
This folder can be moved or renamed.
Your preferred location for reports is defined in the Folder Settings.
Sample Family 14
File
Home/Documents/Reunion Files
A small, sample family: the Kennedys.
Reunion
Folder
Home/Library/Application Support
This folder contains several subfolders: Graphics, Perspective Events, Search Engines, Web Styles, Book Defaults and Book Templates. It also contains several files including: LDS Temples, Song by Frank Leister, Upgrade Encodings, and Reunion Version 14.txt.
Graphics
Folder
Home/Library/Application Support/Reunion
This folder contains two subfolders to support the creation of web output: Backgrounds and Icons. It also contains sample image files for web cover pages. Reports destined for the web will not work properly if this folder is moved or renamed.
LDS Temples
File
Home/Library/Application Support/Reunion
This file is the LDS temples database.
LDS features will not work if this file is moved or renamed.
Perspective Events
Folder
Home/Library/Application Support/Reunion
This folder contains some sample perspective event sets, which can be used in timeline charts, the Ages sidebar and the On This Date Report. If this folder and its contents are moved or renamed, the Ages sidebar and the On This Date Report's Reference Date menu will not include perspective events.
Search Engines
Folder
Home/Library/Application Support/Reunion
This folder contains a file for each of the online web resources that can be searched when using the Search the Web feature. If this folder and its contents are moved or renamed, Web Search will not work.
Book Defaults
Folder
Home/Library/Application Support/Reunion
This folder contains items relating to the default cover pages for new books.
Web Styles
Folder
Home/Library/Application Support/Reunion
This folder contains sub-folders of web styles.
Song by Frank Leister
File
Home/Library/Application Support/Reunion
This is the default music used when you create a slideshow.
Upgrade Encodings
File
Home/Library/Application Support/Reunion
This file is needed when upgrading family files from Reunion 8 and older.
Reunion Version 14
File
Home/Library/Application Support/Reunion
Used internally by Reunion to track updates to this folder.
Welcome

Our goal in creating this software was to design a genealogy app intuitive enough such that a manual would barely be necessary. To us, a good design is important since our inspiration collapses when forced to look for help or think too hard about the basics of an app. Still, for those who want power and flexibility, Reunion is a tool with enormous depth that you can "grow into." To discover all its secrets, you'll find this manual a worthwhile companion. We hope you find this software as fun and as useful as we do in the process of exploring, documenting, and sharing our family history.

Leister Productions, Inc.