How To Download A Gedcom From Ancestry

Jan 16, 2019 - Ancestry® uses GEDCOM (Genealogical Data Communications) files to download and upload family trees. GEDCOM is a universally-accepted.

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  2. How To Download A Gedcom From Ancestry
  3. How To Download A Ged.com From Ancestry
  4. Gedcom File Ancestry
  5. How To Download A Ged.com From Ancestry
  6. How To Download Ancestry Tree
Posted by2 years ago
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Ancestry.com GEDCOM export issues

Hello, I'm new to the sub and I'm not sure if this is an appropriate post (please let me know) but I just wanted to share that Ancestry.com has some serious issues with their GEDCOM export and I wanted to alert other users.

I've spent the last 3 years keeping my primary family tree on ancestry.com (posting all information from all sources there because I like their interface) and from time to time downloading the GEDCOM as a backup. I never actually opened it, I just trusted that it had all the information. It does not.

Just recently I attempted to import the GEDCOM into another program (Family Tree - Heritage) and found that quite a large number of people are missing from my GEDCOM, and not just distant relatives either - it included some 2nd great grandfathers! I thought maybe there was a problem with the import, so I opened the raw GEDCOM file and they were missing from the GEDCOM itself.

I called Ancestry.com support to ask them about getting a complete GEDCOM backup, and I was basically told that GEDCOM is 'not their product (i.e. they didn't invent it)' and that it is 'not supported' and pretty much just told to search ancestry support forums and groups for help with GEDCOM. They also told me that I could manually enter the missing people into my other software if I wanted. I have almost a thousand people in my tree. The thought of manually going through and matching up the missing people sounds daunting, and defeats the purpose of backing up my ancestry.com tree.

I could be wrong, but so far the only software I found that will connect to Ancestry.com and download a tree is Family Tree Maker, which is no longer an ancestry.com product - but it can be purchased from a separate company for $69. I was able to find an online coupon for $40 off, so I got it for $29 and used it to download my tree. As far as I can tell, I don't yet see any missing people. I just didn't want all my years' work only on ancestry.com - I wanted a backup.

Interesting note: it also downloads photos, which is great. Also, I seem to be getting hints on the Family Tree Maker software which weren't showing up in the Ancestry.com interface.

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Perhaps there are better ways to do this, I'd love to hear suggestions.

TL;DR: GEDCOM Download from Ancestry.com has serious issues (missing people) and shouldn't be relied upon for backup of your data. Ancestry.com support no help. Family Tree Maker software (originally an ancestry.com product but they discontinued it) can still be purchased from a third party (find a coupon!) to download data, and so far I don't see any missing people.

Gedcom software windows 7
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Table of Contents

  • How to export a GEDCOM from Ancestry
  • How to export a GEDCOM from MyHeritage
  • How to export a GEDCOM from RootsMagic
  • How to export a GEDCOM from GRAMPS
  • How to export a GEDCOM from Family Tree Maker
  • How to export a GEDCOM from Legacy Family Tree Maker
  • How to export a GEDCOM from The Master Genealogist

How Do I Download A Gedcom File From Ancestry Com

To export a GEDCOM from Ancestry.com Trees:

  • From the top menu, select 'Trees,' then navigate to the tree you want to export.
  • In the upper left corner, click the down arrow beside your tree name to show the tree menu.
  • Click 'Tree Settings'

From the Tree Settings Page:

  • Over on the right side of the screen near the bottom, look for the green button 'Download your GEDCOM file'
  • Click to download your file and save to your computer.
  • Important: Make sure the file name ends in .ged. Sometimes the Ancestry downloader will deliver an invalid file which ends in .mht, which is an html file rather than a GEDCOM file. You don't want that. If this does happen to you, try right-clicking on the 'Download your GEDCOM file' button and then selecting 'Save link as...' This should give you a GEDCOM file (ending in .ged), which is what you want.

To export a GEDCOM from MyHeritage Family Tree Builder:

How to download a ged.com from ancestry
  1. From the 'File' menu, sSelect Export GEDCOM
  2. Set options for the export
  3. Give the file a name and save it somewhere you'll remember

To export a GEDCOM from RootsMagic:

  1. From the 'File' menu, select 'Export'
  2. Select export options.
    1. If you would only like to export a subset of individuals, click the box under 'People to Export' then filter to the desired set of people to include
    2. Check or un-check data types you want to include or exclude
  3. Click 'Ok'
  4. Give the file a name and save it somewhere you'll remember

To export a GEDCOM file from the GRAMPS program:

  1. From the 'File' menu, select 'Export'
  2. Review the file overview.
  3. Click 'Next' to continue
  4. Choose GEDCOM as the export file format to the export options
  5. From the export options you can:
    1. Exclude private records
    2. Exclude living people
    3. Apply filters
  6. Review the export summary/calculations. If you're satisfied, click 'Next'
  7. Give the file a name and save it somewhere you'll remember

To export a GEDCOM from Family Tree Maker:

  1. From the 'File' menu, choose 'Export File,'
  2. Choose whether you want to export the entire file ('Entire File') or only certain individuals ('Selected Individuals')
    1. If you want only certain individuals to be in your file, select them from the options you see after clicking 'Selected Individuals'
  3. In the bottom of the dialog box, change 'Save as type' to GEDCOM
  4. Give the file a name
  5. Save it somewhere on your computer you'll remember

To export a GEDCOM file from Legacy Family Tree Maker:

  1. From the 'File' menu, select 'Export To'
  2. From the submenu, select GEDCOM file
  3. Select which options you want included in your GEDCOM file
  4. In the top right corner of the dialog box, click 'Select File Name and Start Export'
  5. Give your file a name and save it somewhere you'll remember

To export a GEDCOM from The Master Genealogist:

For help exporting a GEDCOM file from TMG The Master Genealogist see 'Help:GEDCOM/The Master Genealogist' ( http://www.werelate.org/wiki/Help:GEDCOM/The_Master_Genealogist) which has been copied here with permission.

Help:GEDCOM/The Master Genealogist

Exporting a GEDCOM in TMG is a two-part process if you want to include only some of the people in your Project. First, you select those to be included using either the Project Explorer or the Focus Group, as specified below for Step 4. Then, use the File > Export menu to open the Export Wizard. Step 1 is just the welcome screen - click Next to get to Step 2:

On this screen choose Gedcom (*.ged), and specify a file name. The file will be stored in the folder specified in Preferences unless you specify a different location on the Put in Folder field.
Click Next to move to Step 3. The default values are generally appropriate, so click Next again to move to Step 4
Select the second bullet, next to the name of your TMG Project. Then choose one of the three items below:
All People - Only if you want everyone in your Project to be included.
Selected people in the Project Explorer - To use this, before you start the export wizard, open the Project Explorer, and select the people you want to include in the export. You can select them individually by holding the Ctrl key and clicking on them. Or, you can create a Filter that specifies the desired people, and select everyone who is then displayed. To do that, click on the first person, scroll to the bottom of the list, and hold Shift while clicking on the last person.

How To Download A Gedcom From Ancestry

People in the Focus Group - This is generally the easiest way to specify a group of people. To use this option, before you start the export wizard, open the Focus Group and add everyone you want to include to the Focus Group. The Add Others function makes it easy to add ancestors, descendants, and spouses to those already in the Focus Group. You usually use the Current Group, but you can use a saved Focus Group by selecting it from the drop-down list.
Be sure to check ID Numbers. They will be used to match people in a future enhancement to allow updating via GEDCOM.

How To Download A Ged.com From Ancestry

Checking Name NPFX/NSFX will export the name prefix and suffix.

Gedcom File Ancestry

If the people you selected in Step 2 include living people, check Suppress Details for Living People.

How To Download A Ged.com From Ancestry

Choose which Tag Types you want to include in the GEDCOM. If you do not want all types of tags included, choose Selected, and a list of your Tag Types will appear as shown above. Select those you want to have included.
You can also chose to include only Primary Tags, and only Primary Names.

How To Download Ancestry Tree

Click Next to advance to Step 7. Generally the default values work well. Click Next to advance to Step 8, then click Finish to create the GEDCOM file.