Monday, June 2, 2014

Adding GEDCOM Information to FamilySearch Family Tree - Post 1: Uploading the GEDCOM File

FamilySearch Family Tree has the potential to be the universal, collaborative, source-centric family tree that many genealogists have yearned for over the years.  Registered users can add photographs, stories, sources, document images, life sketches, and discussions and can attach records from FamilySearch and other record collections.  Any user can add, edit or delete information, but the Change Log records everything and deleted information can be recovered if necessary.

Genealogy and family history researchers can add their family tree research information to the FamilySearch Family Tree (after a FREE registration) in three different ways:

1)  Keying in the names, dates, locations and relationships directly into the website, including matching to profiles already entered into the Family Tree by other persons.  This is fairly tedious but works well.

2)  Using a commercial software program that is capable of connecting to the Family Tree digitally to add information to and from the Family Tree.  Currently, RootsMagic 6, Legacy Family Tree 8 and Ancestral Quest 14 can do this.  Other software programs may add the capability over time.

3)  Users who can create a GEDCOM file in any software program, or download one from another online family tree, can use that GEDCOM to create a new tree on the FamilySearch Genealogies website.  That tree can be used to add information to the FamilySearch Family Tree in a similar manner to the software programs noted in 2) above.

I want to explore the third option above - using a GEDCOM file to add content to the FamilySearch Family Tree.  

The instructions on how to do this are in an article on the FamilySearch "Get Help > Product Support" page under "Genealogies" - titled "Uploading GEDCOM Files and Copying the Information to Family Tree."

1)  First, I created a small GEDCOM file from my RootsMagic 6 database, and saved it in a computer file folder.  I did that just to perform this test and will probably delete the file after I write this series of posts.  I didn't include notes, sources, media, - only the basic information - names, dates, locations and events.

2)  On the "Genealogies" page (on the "Search" tab) on FamilySearch, the process to upload a GEDCOM file is the blue "Submit Tree" near the bottom of the page (two screens shown, some overlap):



3)  I clicked on the blue "Submit Tree" button, and saw:


4)  On the screen above, I clicked on the red "Add GEDCOM" button and saw:


I filled in the fields for "Choose File," a "Tree Name," and a "Description" on the screen above.

5)  To submit my GEDCOM file, I clicked on the red "Upload" button on the screen above.

During the upload, the screen below told me that my file was "uploading:"


I ended up with my small (325 persons, 248 kb) GEDCOM file uploaded:


The file upload took less than one minute to complete.

6)  The next step is to "Compare" the persons in my tree with person profiles already in the FamilySearch Family Tree.  On the screen above, I clicked on the blue "Compare" button (in the lower right-hand corner), and saw:

The message under the graphic above says "We will send you an email when the compare process is complete."

I don't know how long that will take, but I'll try to determine how long it takes when I receive the email.  I uploaded the GEDCOM file at about 12:10 p.m. PDT on 2 June 2014.

I will write about the next step in the "Adding GEDCOM Information to FamilySearch Family Tree" in a later post.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2014/06/adding-gedcom-information-to.html

Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver


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