A Research Ties alternative

Updated 25 October 2026

Research Ties was a web-based research log for genealogists, at about $30 a year. Family Locket noted in September 2024 that it is “no longer available”. If you relied on it, here’s what’s left and how to pick up where you left off.

What Research Ties did

Research Ties organised a research log around objectives. For each objective you recorded the searches you made, the sources you used and the results, including searches that found nothing, and you could search across the whole log. Because it ran in the browser, the log was there on whichever computer you used.

The alternatives

Option	Runs on	Good for	Watch out for
Research Trail (this site)	Any modern browser, offline too	Objective-based logs, “nothing found” as a result, reusable sources with citations, research reports and calendars in Word and PDF, client time (Pro)	Data stays in one browser unless you move it with a backup file. No automatic sync yet
Clooz	Windows desktop	Organising documents and extracting the people in them	Desktop only, and a document organiser more than a research log
Evidentia	Desktop	Analysing evidence claim by claim, in the style of the Genealogical Proof Standard	Strong on analysis, lighter on logging the searches themselves
A spreadsheet	Anywhere	Free, flexible, familiar	Long notes get cramped, citations are typed by hand, and reports are copy and paste
Airtable or Notion	Web	Custom databases, shared projects	You design and maintain the structure yourself, and reports still need building

Clooz and Evidentia are sold through their own sites and the Legacy Family Tree add-ons shop. Check their sites for current versions and prices.

Moving your old log across

Research Trail can’t read Research Ties data directly, and there’s no longer a Research Ties to export from. If you kept a report, a CSV or spreadsheet export, or printouts, the quickest route is:

Start one objective per open question. Copy the objective wording across and paste what you already know into “What’s already known”.
Add your key sources first. The sources you cite most go into the Sources page once, with their citation fields, and every search can link to them.
Bring across the searches that still matter. Especially the negative ones: they’re what stops you repeating work. Older, answered objectives can stay as PDFs.
Download a backup. Then you have the whole log as one file you control.

Why the log is worth rebuilding

The Board for Certification of Genealogists’ sample client agreement lists a “written report of findings, including negative findings” among a researcher’s services, and says “negative findings and unsuccessful searches are charged”. Its Genealogical Proof Standard starts with reasonably exhaustive research and complete and accurate citations. You can only show either if you kept a log of where you looked, including the places that came up empty.

Questions

Is Research Trail made by the people behind Research Ties?

No. Research Trail is an independent product made by Onibaku, a small UK software maker. It isn’t connected to Research Ties or its developers.

Will Research Trail disappear like Research Ties did?

Nobody can promise forever, so Research Trail is built so it doesn’t matter as much: your research lives on your own device, the app keeps working offline, and you can download everything as a backup file or as Word and PDF reports at any time.

Can I try it before paying?

Yes. The free version has one research objective with up to 25 log entries, with reports, calendars and sources included. There’s also a sample objective you can open and explore.

Does it sync between computers like Research Ties did?

Not automatically yet. Download a backup on one computer and import it on another; the import merges changes and shows you what will change first. If you’d use automatic sync, email admin@onibaku.co.uk. It’s built once enough people ask.

Keep your research log where it can’t get lost in a spreadsheet. Research Trail keeps each research objective with every search you make, including the ones that find nothing, and turns it into a research report or research calendar in Word or PDF. It runs in your browser, works offline, and your research stays on your device. Free for one objective.

Open Research Trail See the sample