How to transfer data from one family tree system to another?
I started my family tree on "My Heritage". Very recently I joined "Family Search" and have been able to gather a lot more information. I would like to post all this new information onto my "My Heritage" site? I believe that its called a Gedcom? Unfortunately I have limited computer knowledge. Can someone please explain, step by step, how I can go about integrating the "Family Search" data into "My Heritage" without loosing any data from either packages? Hope you can assist? Thanks
Best Answer
-
@Pieter56 your question is too particular. If you delete the word directly then the answer to your question is yes.
Let's say you use RootsMagic (RM). You install it on your computer. You launch it, start a new tree, and use its import feature to get a tree from FamilySearch. To start the tree enter the PID of a descendant if you want that person's ancestor tree, or the PID of an ancestor if you want that person's descendant tree. Let RM run. Then use the RM export feature to write the tree to a GEDCOM file. Then import the GEDCOM file elsewhere. This is the basic procedure to start a tree somewhere else.
Many people who do this a lot keep their authoritative tree in RM or other 3rd party software. Some keep their authoritative tree on MyHeritage or Ancestry or similar. A few keep it on FamilySearch Family Tree (but keeping it here requires high tolerance for edits by other contributors). Once they have done an initial import, they will in future want only to synchronize their tree between sites. Synchronizing is another feature.
How large is your tree on MyHeritage? The size of it will be the determining factor for whether to do an initial import, or synchronize.
On YouTube there are many videos showing how to use 3rd party software to do these tasks.
1
Answers
-
The FamilySearch tree does not offer the option to create a GEDCOM directly. You will need to use one of the third-party products available.
1 -
Thanks for your input. Much appreciated, but appears that I am going to have to retype everything again into My Heritage site.
0 -
@Pieter56, as Áine said, you can use third-party software to generate a GEDCOM file from FamilySearch's tree. All three of the "majors" (Legacy, RootsMagic, Ancestral Quest) offer free versions that can dowload from FS. You can get them using FS's Solutions Gallery.
2 -
Thanks for your response. As can be seen, I have a low level of understanding of computer technology. Just so I am clear in my own mind, there is no way of directly transferring the data in Family Search (FS) to My Heritage (MH). Besides of course physically retyping everything over again? The only way I can do this, is to obtain a third party software package using FS's Solutions Gallery. The data from FS will get automatically downloaded to this new package? Or how does this happen? Then how do I transfer the data from this new package to MH? Is this by using a GEDCOM file? How am I doing so far?
If that is the case, and I do get my data transferred to this new package, then I refer to my original question of how do I transfer data (is this called a GEDCOM file) from whichever new package system to MH?
Thank you for your patience.
0 -
dontiknowyou - Thank you! I cannot wait to get down to testing out your suggestion. Very helpful and much appreciated.
0 -
The suggestion from @dontiknowyou works fine if you are simply looking for a tree with your ancestors and their siblings. However, if you want to include descendants of siblings life gets more complicated. If you have very few branch lines, you can use RootsMagic or other free programs for each branch, combine them into your tree in RootsMagic and then export to upload to MyHeritage. If you have a lot of branch lines you need software that can cope. The only one I know of that does this in one step is Family Tree Maker. Unfortunately there is no free version.
2 -
Graham, pity I didn't see your response before doing what I did. Downloaded my FS Tree to RM. Then went onto MH and imported the RM GEDCOM file. Unfortunately, your prediction appears to be the case? All the basic details have been transferred, BUT, I appear to have lost many of my branch downline family links/branches which were previously on my MH tree?? Last twenty years may have been destroyed and I'm not sure if/how I can get it back? Hopefully MH will be able to assist?
I use a paid version of MyHeritage. They don't perhaps do what you suggest that Family Tree Maker does? Hope you don't mind all the questions?
0 -
Family Tree Maker (FTM) is an alternative to Roots Magic (RM).
So, to get the descendants of your ancestors (your cousins) onto your MyHeritage tree, go to back to RM. In RM, load your saved tree from the database file RM created. Then, in your tree go to each ancestor one by one and repeat the process of importing a descendancy tree from FamilySearch Family Tree. Finally, export the entire tree to a GEDCOM and load that GEDCOM onto MyHeritage.
Or, buy FTM and do in one step the process of importing all your ancestors and all their descendants from FamilySearch Family Tree into FTM then from FTM via GEDCOM into MyHeritage.
Some cautions for you to consider in deciding on the desired scope of your tree:
- Such an up-and-down tree can be VERY large. One early American colonist I work on with others has an 8-generation descendancy tree of over 800,000 persons. Were I to descend his tree a few generations then add all the ancestors of those descendants, then the descendants of all those other ancestors, I would be including nearly the entire founding population of Caucasians on the North American continent. That would be hundreds of millions of persons.
- A very large tree can also have a very large number of wrong relationships.
0 -
@dontiknowyou Thanks for your response. First option looks very complex and difficult for my level of understanding. Second option is throwing more money at the problem (which might very well be the best solution)?? I want to take time to relook at my current status on MyHeritage? Might be another option i.e. to re-enter all of the missing links/branches manually? I will review. Thanks
0
