Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Dear Randy: Can I Print a Pedigree Chart of my Ancestry Member Tree?

One of my correspondents asked this question recently, and my short answer was "YES."

But I wasn't sure how to do it, so this is for you, Ray:

1)  Go to your Ancestry Member Tree, and choose the Pedigree Chart view:


2)  The "Printer" icon at the bottom of the icons on the far left of the screen above will produce a Pedigree chart.  When I clicked the "Printer" icon, I saw:


That produced a 5 generation pedigree chart.

3)  I can Print that chart by clicking on the orange "Print" button on the screen above:


My "Print" dialog opened and I could click on the blue "Print" button.

However, the tree image is fairly small - it doesn't take the whole page.  That's how it is, I guess.  On my computer, I tried fiddling with the margins and options and was not able to improve it.  I eventually saved it as a PDF file.  When I printed it out, I could barely read the names and event data.

4)  Can I print more generations?  Yes, you can by clicking on each person on the Ancestry Member Tree pedigree view with an arrow to the right, and you will see that person's tree for four more generations.

5)  There are other printing options at the top of the pedigree chart (second image above) to "Create a Book," "Create a Poster," and "Create a Calendar."  Clicking one of those takes you to the MyCanvas website of Alexanders, which will create those items for a fee straight from your Ancestry Member Tree.

6)  My opinion is that this pedigree chart, when printed out, is fairly primitive and inadequate for my needs.  Desktop genealogy software, such as Family Tree Maker, RootsMagic, or Legacy Family Tree provide more options and capability, plus larger wall charts with more generations.

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2 comments:

Colleen G. Brown Pasquale said...

Thanks. I usually print charts using Family Tree Maker but it is nice to know there is another option.

anitab said...

The first time I tried printing a chart, it came out looking like the preview. No longer true - and very frustrating, since it does seem like a deliberate effort to "encourage" the use of another service which I would have to pay for.

My work-around is this: while in 'Preview' mode for printing, I enlarge as much as possible (Command + on my Mac); and then I do a screenshot. I've taken the resulting file into a photo editing program, and easily produced just what I wanted, for use in a photo book.