Family Tree Maker Doesn't Connect to Ancestry Hints

Family Tree Maker has long been the standard-bearer for desktop genealogy software programs. Indeed, our very first issue—January 2000—included an article on using Family Tree Maker 6.0. But when Ancestry.com announced it was discontinuing the software in 2015, some genealogists left it for expressionless.

Just the program has experienced a renaissance since being bought by Software MacKiev. Family Tree Maker 2017 was the outset to allow for syncing betwixt information technology and a family tree on Beginnings.com. And subsequent updates have incorporated even more functionality while maintaining the same features that attracted genealogists in the offset place.

To help you make the most of the plan, nosotros've put together these tips for using Family Tree Maker.

The tips and screenshots in this article reflect Family Tree Maker 2019 (the nearly recent version at time of writing), but much of the advice volition also apply to earlier iterations of the software.

Note: Despite the somewhat similar names, Family Tree Magazine is not affiliated with Family Tree Maker. The software plan is created past a separate company.

1. Import your family tree.

If you lot've already congenital a digital family tree, you tin can salve valuable research fourth dimension by importing information technology into Family Tree Maker. Yous tin either upload a GEDCOM file (under Plan>New Tree, click Import an Existing Tree) or download a tree from Ancestry.com or FamilySearch. (Just make sure the information imports correctly!) Don't worry if you're new to family-tree-building or want to outset fresh—you can also create a new tree manually, adding one person at a time.

2. Alter your engagement preferences.

Family Tree Maker formats dates consistently beyond your tree, making it easier for you to review them at a glance. To change how dates are formatted, select Tools from the dropdown menu, then choose Options. From this window, select Names/Dates/Places and a format (such as "Twenty-four hours Month Year") for both brandish and input formats. (Mac users: Select Preferences, then Dates/Names/Places.)

3. Add life events.

You can select preformatted fundamental life events ("facts") to add to a person in your family tree. While in the Tree window, select a person and click Customize View. From at that place, y'all can add private facts (baptism, nascence, burial, etc.) every bit well as shared facts (marriage license, divorce, etc.) Yous can also add a custom fact and specify what fields you want associated with its entry (such as date or identify).

four. Have reward of descriptions.

Each fact has a description field where you lot can add together more information, perfect for including details that don't fit neatly elsewhere. If you don't run into the Description field, become to the Person view, then select a fact. Under Options, select Fact Properties. So brand sure Description is included under Fact Elements.

5. Sort through conflicting data.

If your antecedent has multiple details associated with a fact (such as conflicting dates of birth), select which will exist "preferred." Preferred facts volition generally be displayed in reports and other exported versions of your tree, simply Family Tree Maker will even so maintain this alternate information (useful if you're even so determining which data is right).

6. Clean upward your names and places.

You can alter how your ancestors' names are formatted in bulk under Tools>Catechumen Names, handy if they've been capitalized inconsistently. Likewise, Family unit Tree Maker can help standardize your place names. Under Tools>Resolve All Place Names, you lot'll see all locations that Family Tree Maker doesn't recognize. The tool provides a suggested standardized identify name, and you can either have the suggested alternative or ignore it altogether. Click Other to search for another spelling of the place name.

7. Certificate censuses.

Use the Census fact to signal if your ancestor appeared in an enumeration. In the Date field, use the full date—including the official twenty-four hours and month the demography was taken that yr. (See our list.) Too, type the full accost in the Place field. You can besides upload and adhere an image of the census return (or any tape image, for that matter).

8. Copy facts from 1 person to another.

Calculation events that affected multiple people—such equally residence data from censuses—tin exist tiresome. Salve fourth dimension by copying such facts to others' profiles. Get to the People window, then the Person tab. Brand sure Facts is selected in the menu, then correct-click the target fact and select Re-create. Click away, then right-click the fact over again and select Paste. Then click the checkmark next to the profile(due south) you want to add together the fact to.

9. Record addresses.

Family Tree Maker has three carve up place-related fact types: Address (the contemporary identify someone lived or worked, more often than not used for postal purposes), Property (related to real estate) and Residence (where someone mentioned in a record lived). Select which fact all-time applies to the event you want to tape, and exist consistent in how yous use that fact type. You can as well consider indicating some of the address in the Place field of other facts, and so including the rest in the Description or Note fields.

x. Don't confuse will and probate.

Some genealogists call up these two "events" are the aforementioned, simply Family unit Tree Maker has split up fact types for a reason. Wills are written documents prepared earlier a person's decease, while "probate" refers to legal proceedings after a person's decease. So the Date and Identify fields of probate facts should refer to when and where the courtroom ruled on the deceased's case, while those fields in the wills fact should point when and where that document was prepared.

11. Create reports.

Family Tree Maker offers several options for reports that you lot can generate and export. These are nifty to share with family, friends and other researchers. In addition, reports can help you look at your work with fresh eyes. Access reports under the Publish window.

12. Back up your information.

In some ways, desktop software is a safer repository for your family tree than an online service like Beginnings.com. You lot tin access your tree in Family unit Tree Maker without internet, and your tree isn't tied to an online subscription that could theoretically disappear. (And, different the FamilySearch Family Tree, no i can edit your tree in Family Tree Maker without your permission.) Still, be certain to export your family unit tree as a GEDCOM and store on an external hard drive or in cloud-based storage. You never know when your hard drive could crash, wiping away years of hard piece of work.

13. Follow these steps to consign your tree from Family unit Tree Maker.

Ane of the most of import advantages of using genealogy software is that one time yous've entered information on your family into a program, it's easy to share your family file. You lot might want to electronic mail a branch of your family unit tree to a cousin. Even if she uses unlike genealogy software, she tin all the same open your file and view your tree. Or maybe you lot'd similar to submit your family tree file to GEDmatch along with your DNA test results, so your matches on the site can figure out how you're related. If you lot want to switch to a dissimilar genealogy plan, you tin brand a copy of your family file to upload to the other programme.

Users of the popular Family Tree Maker genealogy software were left wondering what to do with their family files in December 2015, when Ancestry.com announced plans to discontinue the plan. Although the company later reversed its decision and instead sold Family unit Tree Maker to Software MacKiev, researchers were reminded of the potential for obsolescence when using whatsoever 3rd-political party data-storage tool.

Whether y'all demand to transfer your family unit tree to new software or y'all just desire to share information technology with relatives, you'll need to know how to export a family file. Here's how to do this in Family unit Tree Maker.

1. If you maintain a Member Tree on Ancestry.com, first synchronize it with your Family Tree Maker software.

This is so your exported file will contain the most up-to-appointment information. To exercise this, open the linked tree in Family Tree Maker and click on the greenish leaf with the up and down arrows, located in the upper right corner of your screen. Then click on Sync Now.

two.Y'all might want your exported family file to contain only part of your tree.

Perchance y'all want to send just your shared branch to a cousin, for instance. We'll suggest two means to do this:

• 1 method is to create a nautical chart to select people to include in the file. This is the only way that lets you specify how many generations of a relative'south descendants y'all want to share. First, in Family Tree Maker, click the People tab and select the person whose descendants y'all want in the file. Then click the Publish tab, select a chart (such every bit the Descendant Chart) under the Collection tab, and click on Create Chart. Specify how many generations of descendants to include. If you don't want to include all the descendants, select simply the ones you want. Right-click on the chart, click on Export and choose either Selected Persons or Unabridged Chart.
• Another manner to select whom to include in your new file is to select Export from the File menu (shown). Highlight a proper noun and click Include to select merely that person. Click Ancestors and you can specify the number of generations to include. Click Descendants to include all of a selected person's descendants. You tin can brand multiple selections, such every bit someone'due south ancestors and and so that person'due south descendants. To starting time over again, click the Exclude All push button.

iii. Choose an output file format.

The Family Tree Maker output option generates a backup file (.FTMB) that works simply with the version you used to create it. Usually, you'll select some other selection, either some other version of Family Tree Maker (2008/2009, 2010, 2011 or 2012) or a GEDCOM 5.5 file. The onetime blazon of file has the extension .FTM; a GEDCOM file ends in .GED.

In general, if y'all'll share the file with someone who uses Family unit Tree Maker, select the version that person has. Otherwise, cull a GEDCOM 5.five file, a format compatible with most genealogy software and websites, such every bit GEDmatch. Just if yous're sharing with someone who uses RootsMagic software version 7.1.0.1 or higher, it'due south better to share a Family Tree Maker file. RootsMagic can now import all versions of Family Tree Maker for Windows and Mac, and information technology does a better chore importing a Family Tree Maker file than a Family Tree Maker-generated GEDCOM file.

iv. Specify what information to include in the file.

If y'all opt to privatize living people, only their names will be part of the file. You lot can optionally include individual facts and notes, every bit well as a research to-do list. If you include media files, such as photographs and document images, Family Tree Maker files will include them, but GEDCOM files will have simply links to them. (Note that GEDCOM files created with Family Tree Maker 2011 and earlier versions won't have links to media files, either.) If you're sharing your tree as a GEDCOM file, you'll demand to send image files and other media separately.

5. Select the binder on your computer where you want to salvage the file.

Give the binder a proper noun such as "jones-genealogy" and click OK. When the consign is finished, click OK again.

Rick Crume

Information in this article appeared in the July/August 2016 (Crume) and July/Baronial 2020 bug of Family Tree Magazine. An earlier version of this commodity (by Melanie Rigney) appeared in the January 2000 outcome of Family Tree, and covered tips for Family unit Tree Maker 6.0.

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Source: https://www.familytreemagazine.com/resources/software/family-tree-maker-tips/

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