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Sharing Your Family Tree

Creating GEDCOMS to Share
Genealogy Information

This applies to Family Tree Maker programs only

By Betty Dotson Renick


   I have tried to cover every step because I struggled figuring out how to do this. It is MUCH EASIER than it sounds, but only after you�ve done it a few times. Like riding a bicycle, I guess.

Step 1. Open Family Tree Maker with the File that has the people in it that you want to copy to a GEDCOM file. (You can, but you do not have to put ALL of the people in your present file into the new file you will be creating).

Step 2. Go to the person (ancestor) that you want to create a new file for � such as your oldest Johnson ancestor.

Step 3. Click �File� on upper left on the menu bar. The drop down menu will show �Copy/Export� Family File. Click on it.

Step 4. A window comes up that says, �New family File� with 2 boxes with arrows (drop down menus). Click on the upper window which says �Save In�: You can pick WHERE you want to store the file so you can easily access it when you want to share or load onto the My Family Site. I usually pick �Documents� then I can later throw away those files when I no longer need them.

Step 5. In the window with no arrow, create a name for your file such as David Johnson Ancestors or whatever.

Step 6. In the bottom window with the arrow, click on arrow to display choices, and click on GEDCOM. Then click �Save� and a new window will appear. Just click OK and you will see a window with a blue line showing that the program is �exporting individuals�.

Step 7. You now have a �clone� of your Family Tree Maker file, which will have notes etc., but no photos, but will take up much less space on your computer, can be attached to E-mail messages and also loaded onto an Internet site.

Step 8. If you want to share the entire file, then go to Step 10. If you only want to share a portion, you need to go through the next steps.

Step 9
To create a GEDCOM of only a portion of your files
:

Open your family tree program.

Then click �File� and click NEW.

Again a drop down window comes down with options. In first window, you will pick again where you want to save. This time it will only save as a regular family tree file (not a GEDCOM).

Then click save, you will see it backing up, and then you will see a blank family tree page.

Click on File again and choose Append/Merge. Now you will be finding the first GEDCOM file that you saved (David Johnson Ancestors). The first window says �Look In� and if in My Documents, you would look there. Next go to 2nd DROP DOWN menu and click on GEDCOM file. Then click on the file in the large window & click on �Append�.

Click OK on next �caution� window.

And click OK on next window. You will see the backing up of the file, and then a �report� window.

Click OK. Then you get to the window, which allows you to decide WHO will be put into this new GEDCOM file.
Remember this whole step is unnecessary if you do not want to pick who will be in the file you are sharing
.

At this window, you have a choice of going to a descendant and then picking ancestors OR picking an ancestor & picking descendants.

Either way, you click on the person of choice, and then click the box showing ancestors or descendants.

Then the right window will fill with people, and a box will say, some of these people are already included.

Click OK to all. Then a window says append only, which is fine. You now have a partial file of the people in your original file. You will see little �s� (source) indicators (which will show up in reports that your file is the source of the information).

Now you would follow Steps 1 through 7 (above) to create a GEDCOM of this NEW file.

Step 10

Now that you have a file saved on your computer in the GEDCOM form, it�s easy to attach and mail to someone, or you can upload this file to Internet sites that accept GEDCOMS.



For an Ancestry.com article about GEDCOMS click HERE

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