Is there a way to migrate notes and photos from PAF or Ancestral Quest to FamilySearch?

MDRMT · May 27, 2022

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Community for help.

The best way to bring information into FamilySearch from out of date programs like PAF or even updated program like a recent version of Ancestral Quest is to create and upload a GEDCOM. It is quite simple and it will give you the opportunity to choose among the data that is already in FamilySearch and those items and people who are not.

The following link will give you details as to how to do it. Ancestral Quest has a "make a GedCom" right on it that will walk you through the steps.

https://www.familysearch.org/en/help/helpcenter/article/how-do-i-upload-my-gedcom-file

Hope this is useful to you.

Dennis J Yancey · May 27, 2022

Oh Boy . . .

to place your data into FS into a PRIVATE area (such as "genealogies" (formerly Pedigree Resource File) can indeed be done with a GEDCOM

BUT to take the next step and merge that data into FamilySearch Family Tree

The vast number of FS users will have very emotional opinions about the horrendous damage that is done when people blindly/lazily just do a GEDCOM load into Family Tree - resulting in hundreds or even thousands of Duplicates, Mangled merges, and similar occurances - shear havoc at times because they often think they are just loading data into their private tree - when in reality they may be affecting the data entered or maintained by hundreds or thousands of fellow users.

PLEASE be cautious of recommending/implementing a GEDCOM upload

it has been the endless bane of so many of us trying to keep the data in FS FamilyTree reasonably clean. . ..

Im sure you will get others with similar opinions ..

This is a topic that get rehashed like every two or three weeks . . .

Please use extreme caution if you do proceed with a GEDCOM upload -

(again its a two/three step process 1) uploading file, 2) seeing your data in standalone area 3) then going through a very slow and tedious process (that most people give up on) that allows you to merge your data into FS Family Tree - - but also allows you to do a lot of damage if you aren't careful and have a eye for small details. (note you can do steps 1 and 2 without 3)

gasmodels . · June 4, 2022

While the discussion above covers moving information from a GEDCOM file to Family Tree it should be noted that notes and photo's cannot be moved by that method. There is no automatic way to move them. You would have to individually upload the photos to memories and tag them to the appropriate records in Family Tree - Notes I believe would have to be entered individually also - probably copy paste.

SherwoodDixon · June 4, 2022

Thanks for your collective guidance. You have confirmed that there is no automated way to move Notes and Photos from PAF, Ancestral Quest or Rootsmagic. And, I do not need to use a GEDCOM to load the other primary data. I do understand the concerns involved with the careless use of a GEDCOM. Thanks for your responses