I'd like a way to import my family tree - in a GED format to family search. If it cannot be done co

LegacyUser

Virginia Walker said: I have my family tree done in My Heritage and would like to import that tree (in a GED format) to family search. Can that be done

LegacyUser

Juli said: FS does have a GEDCOM import, but please don't use it to populate the communal Family Tree: many (possibly nearly all) of those people probably already have profiles here.

If you want to upload the file as a form of archiving, it's under Search - Genealogies, at the bottom of the page.

LegacyUser

Don M Thomas said: Just another patron like yourself.

The FamilySearch "Search," is located (above), on the same line as the FamilySearch icon. Hit on the "Search," and then hit on "Genealogies." - To Search Historical Records, hit on "Search" again, and then "Records." To search the "Family Tree," hit on the "Family Tree" (above) and then "Find." To do any of the above you will need to be logged into familysearch.org.

LegacyUser

Juli said: Don, I see now that my phrasing is open to misinterpretation... Search is one of the menus at the _top_ of every FS page; if you click on it, Genealogies is one of the choices. If you choose it, and go down to the bottom of _that_ page, you'll see the button for uploading a file for archiving.

LegacyUser

Jeff Wiseman said: Welcome to the forum Virginia!

Yes, you can currently upload a GEDCOM file into a database in the Genealogies area (i.e., NOT directly to the FamilySearch FamilyTree a.k.a. the "FSFT") where everyone can see and search it but only you can delete it (nobody can modify it including yourself).

However, at that point the tool tries to get you to then compare and merge the data in your GEDCOM file (in the genealogies database) with the one, single, shared FamilyTree. You basically have to walk through your GEDCOM file person records one at a time and compare each one with all of the potential duplicates that are already in the tree.

If you find a suggested duplicate that is the same as the one in your GEDCOM record, you then must compare all of the data that is already in the previously existing record in FamilyTree with the data in the record in your GEDCOM file and you have the option to change data that is already in the tree. If you do not find a duplicate already in the tree (which is very rare), you have the ability to create a new record in the FSFT from your data.

You can then move on to the NEXT person in your GEDCOM file and REPEAT this process.

Note that if you overwrite data that already exists in the FSFT without providing sources or other documentation showing why the data you are entering is more appropriate than the data that was already stored there, you can fully expect that someone else will come along and replace it with the previous data that was already there.

Also Note that the entire FSFT is designed to work as a single tree for all humanity. It has processes that are designed to expose and REMOVE duplicates. If you ignore or choose to bypass the comparison processes and just create your own version of a person record, it will eventually be discovered by someone and merged away into the more complete duplicate that already exists.

The FSFT is totally different than most other places where you can generate GEDCOM files from. It is a collaborative and SHARED tree. Your great grandfather's record will not only be visible to your, but it will also be visible and can be modified by any of the millions of other patrons that have FS accounts. Nobody has their own personal tree in the FSFT database.

Once you put any information into the FSFT, it is no longer yours. It belongs to the FamilySearch organization which makes it viewable and modifiable to ALL of the FS patrons with FS accounts on the system.

And one last note. The GEDCOM compare tool on the FS website has a lot of problems IMHO. It hides a lot of information that you need to make decisions about merging your data into the one shared tree. And to the uninitiated, it is VERY misleading. Without a lot of care, you can do damage to data in the FSFT that has taken years to assemble, and that just gets people angry. For a bunch of recent examples, see:
https://getsatisfaction.com/familysea...

Hope this helps some.

LegacyUser

Tom Huber said: While there is no problems in uploading your GEDCOM to the Genealogies section, where it can be searched, wanting to easily incorporate it into the massive tree (with over 1.2 Billion names in it, there is none. The compare function associated with the upload is flawed by clunky code that has had patches applied to it, but it is still far from being anywhere nearly as good as adding new persons to the tree via the source linker, or manually. None of the systems are perfect.

The whole idea behind the massive tree is to have just one record or profile for each person who has lived (and is now deceased), as far as records make possible. Duplicate records or profiles for the same person must be avoided and if found, merged down to produce a single record.

That merging process takes time and as such, it is far better if the duplicate is never created in the first place. There are enough of them as it is from previous systems that had no process for reducing duplicates down into a single record.

Regardless, thank you for your interest in wanting to add your tree's persons to the massive tree.

Living persons can be added, but they only appear for the person who entered them. Privacy laws prevail when it comes to living persons and as such, are entered by the user into that user's "private space".