One of the biggest advantages of using the Internet for genealogy research is
\nthe ability to exchange information with other researchers or interested
\nparties. To share genealogical information, genealogists often transfer
\nelectronic documents containing genealogical information. The most common way to
\ndo this is to send that information as a GEDCOM file.<\/p>\n
What does GEDCOM stand for?<\/span><\/strong> What are GEDCOM files used for?<\/span><\/strong> One service Geni provides is an online representation of the information It is recommend that Geni users use (and anyone using any genealogy program) How does a GEDCOM file work?<\/span><\/strong> How do I view a GEDCOM file?<\/span><\/strong> How do I open and read a GEDCOM file?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Save the GEDCOM File to Your Computer:<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/span> Determine whether it is really a GEDCOM:<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/em> Import your GEDCOM file to Geni:<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n For detailed information on the formats and fields Geni supports, visit the GEDCOM page<\/a> on the <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One of the biggest advantages of using the Internet for genealogy research is the ability to exchange information with other researchers or interested parties. To share genealogical information, genealogists often transfer electronic documents containing genealogical information. The most common way to do this is to send that information as a GEDCOM file. What does GEDCOM stand for?GEDCOM is an acronym for GEnealogical Data COMmunication. When saved, transferred or shared, this data usually takes the form… Read the full story<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-geni-user-tips"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4611"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4611"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4611\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
GEDCOM is an acronym for GE<\/strong>nealogical D<\/strong>ata COM<\/strong>munication. When saved,
\ntransferred or shared, this data usually takes the form of a text file, commonly
\nreferred to as a "GEDCOM file" or "GEDCOM" for short.<\/p>\n
GEDCOM is a structured method of formatting genealogical or family tree data.
\nBecause its format and usage are described in a written, open specification, the
\nmajority of genealogy software applications have settled on the GEDCOM file as
\nthe standard for input and output. Many genealogists use GEDCOM files to save,
\ntransfer or share genealogical content or data.\n<\/p>\n
\ncontained in a family’s GEDCOM file or files. Users can simply invite their family<\/a> <\/a> <\/a> to
\njoin their family network and share their information with known family members.
\nSharing information with potential<\/em> (or unconfirmed) relatives is another
\nstory. Since Geni shows living and deceased relatives, inviting an unconfirmed
\nrelative to your family tree is not recommended, as it may risk showing private
\nfamily information to a person who may turn out to be unrelated. Instead, try
\ndetermining relatedness before inviting. One way to do this is to mutually
\nexchange GEDCOM files that are configured to show only deceased relatives. If
\nyou are indeed closely related and able to build a relationship path to one
\nanother, then it is probably safe to go ahead and invite that person to your
\nGeni Tree. <\/p>\n
\nback up their data as often as possible. You can do this through a process known
\nas GEDCOM export<\/a>, which is a
\ncommon feature of many genealogy applications, and one that Geni offers online.<\/p>\n
A GEDCOM file is nothing more than a text file formatted along certain rules, as
\ndescribed in the GEDCOM specification. This specification calls for the use of
\ntags<\/em> (denoted by the TAG label in the file) to describe individuals and
\ntheir familial relationships. Examples of tags include: INDI for individual, FAM
\nfor family, BIRT for birth and DATE. A GEDCOM file is basically a "flat file"
\ndatabase of records with pointers to track the relationships of all the people
\nit contains. <\/p>\n
It is possible to decipher a GEDCOM by viewing it with any text editor. However,
\nit is usually much easier to read a GEDCOM file with a software application that
\nspecializes in viewing family trees or displaying GEDCOM files. The great
\nmajority of genealogy applications support GEDCOM. Geni also supports the GEDCOM
\nformat, through its Geni’s Import feature.<\/a><\/p>\n
Whether downloading the GEDCOM file from the Internet or receiving it as an
\nemail attachment, save the file to an easy-to-find location on your hard drive.<\/p>\n
Begin by ensuring that the file that you want to open is truly a GEDCOM file,
\nand not a family tree file created in another custom or proprietary format by a
\ngenealogy software program. GEDCOM files end with the file extension
\n.ged<\/em>. Sometimes, a GEDCOM file may be compressed for faster transfers,
\nand in this case the file is likely to end with the .zip<\/em> extension.
\nCompressed GEDCOM files must be decompressed before being imported.<\/p>\n\n
\n5,000-person limit per import, but no overall limit to how many people you may
\nimport.)\n<\/li>\n
\nyou just uploaded.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
\nGeni User Wiki.<\/p>\n