How to Export a Family Tree to GEDCOM Format
Short Answer
GEDCOM is the standard format that lets a family tree move between different genealogy programs. A GEDCOM export means your family record is not locked into one system — and that is the real test of whether the data truly belongs to you.
The question worth asking before putting ten years of work into any lineage system: can I get it back out?
What GEDCOM is
GEDCOM (Genealogical Data Communication) is a standard text file format for lineage data. It has been in use since the 1980s and nearly every serious genealogy program can read and write it.
A single GEDCOM file holds individuals, families, marriages, dates and places — the structure of your tree, in a form tied to no company.
Why it matters even if you never plan to move
- An independent backup. A GEDCOM file can be kept on your own computer and read ten years later without a subscription.
- Sharing with relatives. A cousin using different software can take your branch and merge it with theirs.
- Insurance against business risk. A system with no export leaves your family record dependent on the survival of its company.
What GEDCOM carries, and what it leaves behind
GEDCOM carries structure: individuals, parent-child relationships, marriages, dates and places. It was not designed to carry full-resolution photographs, scanned documents, voice recordings or conversations.
That is why a full export exists separately: a single ZIP archive holding the family tree, gallery, documents and family stories together. Use GEDCOM to move the tree; use the full archive to keep everything.
What is deliberately left out of the archive
Family chat and the audit log are not exported. A private conversation between two members does not belong to whoever downloads the family archive, and the audit log is an oversight record whose value depends on staying where it is.
Software that can open a GEDCOM file
- Gramps — free and open source, runs on Windows, macOS and Linux
- Family Tree Maker, Legacy Family Tree, RootsMagic — commercial software
- Ancestry, MyHeritage, FamilySearch — international online services
A technical note on long text
GEDCOM breaks long text across several lines using two markers: one continues without a line break, the other starts a new line. A file that uses the wrong marker breaks words in half every 200 characters — damage that only shows up after the file is opened in other software, and the main reason carelessly generated GEDCOM files look "almost right".
Start building your family tree
Free for small families. No credit card required.
Related articles
The Family QR Code: Practical Uses People Rarely Think Of
When we first proposed a QR code for a family tree, the first reaction was usually the same: what for? At feasts and family gatherings In a gathering of 150 people from seven branches of one family,...
Family TechnologyKinship Finder: How the System Works Out Family Relationships Automatically
"He is my cousin, but what kind of cousin exactly?" The question comes up at every family gathering, and two people rarely agree on the answer. How a relationship is actually calculated The relations...
Family TechnologyThe Family Welfare Fund: Running It Digitally
A bereavement fund is among the most practical things a large family does: every member contributes a little each year, and when a death occurs the bereaved household receives help immediately without...