So what happens when you do have duplicate people?

True duplicated Persons will appear on the People Index list more than once, or show up twice in the Ancestry List of all People.  If you do not see multiple entries, then they are not duplicates. 

If you recognize two different entries are actually the same person, then use the People > Person > “Merge Two Specific Individuals” command. Verify that you have the correct pair of persons and confirm what data to keep as a result of the merge.   BTW, merging two people will appear as a deletion of one during your next sync.  (i.e. 2 into1 = 1)

Find Duplicate People Tool.
The Find Duplicate People Tool, simply attempts to compare people in your tree with others that MAY be the same person. Each line in the display is ONLY A POSSIBLE MATCH. The higher number in the right-hand column, the closer the computer thinks the match is.  Research each pair before accepting the match and always verify the data being merged.  Note: a single person may be proposed as matching on several different lines.  That's the program just being thorough.

The Goal is not to clear the tool. It is not necessary to clear all the lines on the list. Not finding true duplicates is a good thing, there should be none. Merge those that are duplicates, review those that you are unsure of, and ignore those that are obviously wrong.  Then move on.  Spend your time on research and checking to make sure you don't already have the person in your tree as you work, thereby preventing duplicates at in the first place.
You can remove lines from the tool's list as you work and save the state of the tool so that you can reopen it to continue your review.  But there is no way to permanently remove potential matches.  Each time you run the program anew, it reviews all your data to pickup any new persons and will display many, if not most, of the same potential matches.  

[Yes, I know many people think the tool could be better implemented, but it is what we have, use it or not as you see fit]  Many find reviewing the Index to be more productive.

A Basic Concept to remember when building your tree is that:

"Each of your Ancestors was just one person in History".

Therefore they should be entered in your Tree Only Once.

From then on they get linked or connected to others in the tree based on relationships (mother, father, and spouse). When events happen to people already in your tree, and you need to connect to them, always use "Select an Existing Person" instead of adding New. Doing otherwise will result in Duplicate Persons in your data.

How its Organized.
To start with, FTM is organized using a Workspace metaphor.  These are the large tabs across the top row of the program.  

Each Workspace is descriptive as to what one can do in each. 

Start with the Plan Workspace and either begin entering data about your family, import data or download from online.  Then move to the People Workspace to view and edit your ancestors.  As you work further in the program you will be adding Places - where events occurred, Media - record images or photos of your family, Sources -  documentation and where you found the information. When you are ready you can Publish - Charts and Reports of the data you collected.  The Web Search Workspace is where you can connect to online services like Ancestry, Family Search and others to research your ancestors and collect facts about their lives. 

As one navigates through the Workspaces, the displays change to reflect the what you are working on.  Some of the Menus and Tools will be specific to individual workspaces. For example if one is on the Media Workspace you can access your scanner to capture a picture.

New users should investigate each Workspace, making note of the different things displayed and the tools available.  It's also a good idea to become familiar with the Program Help.  When viewing each Workspace press the F1 Key to see a summary of that workspace and explanations of the functions that are available.  Click on each menu item so you become familiar with the location of commands.  Just looking will do no damage to your data or to the program.  Explore and have fun.

The purpose of this blog is to expand user's knowledge of the Genealogy program "Family Tree Maker"®.   The program is currently published by Software MacKiev.  Their site is www.familytreemaker.com.  I am not a employee of nor directly associated with the publisher.  I am just a fan and user of the software.  The concept for this blog is to pick different functions of the program and explain "How it Works", giving the background of the design and implementation of those functions.   If you have suggestions for which functions to present, please let me know.