What is gedcom file

GEDCOM files are text files that contain the information and linkages necessary to exchange genealogical data between two entities. The entities may use the same or different software application. Examples of these exchanges would include:. As a text-based file, it is easily transmitted as an attachment to e-mails or downloaded from web sites.

Also, applications may be found on the web to print or manipulate individual GEDCOM files without importing them into applications. It also recognises family structures and groups people and sources together. If you want a more technical account of how the software works, there is a helpful description on Wikipedia. There are limitations with GEDCOM and over the years new versions have tried to iron out some of these problems including limited ideas of what constitutes a family unit, for example same-sex marriages.

The format is also used slightly differently by different products which can cause problems when exporting and importing.

Some products may not import some of the more free form notes fields, for example. Don't see what you're looking for? Skip to Main Content.

Expand search. Search Search. Sign In Account Management. Family Trees Family Tree Settings. Information Article Body. From the tree, click the tree name menu in the top-left corner and select Tree Settings. Then, choose I know where the file is, and the file explorer window will appear.

All that information his relative sent him will be slurped into RootsMagic and he can easily look through the pedigree of his family. This is what you would send to your relatives when they would like to have a copy of the family tree.

To do this, open RootsMagic. Click on File , as we did before, and this time choose Export from the pull-down options. The export box will pop-up. You can choose what you wish to have included in this export. I typically choose Everyone, but you can do yours by family names by clicking on the down arrow next to Everyone and choosing Select from list. Save the file on your desktop or somewhere you will be able to locate it again. Remember to name the file and pay attention to where you are saving it!

If you have stored your genealogy data at Ancestry.