Share GEDCOM Files

This extension automates the tasks involved in exporting a GEDCOM file or a family treee from your GEDitCOM II file complete (when needed) with multimedia objects or their thumbnails. When done, you can transfer the results to your friends or family or transfer to your iPhone (with a compatibla iPhone app).

The two export styles are:

Note: If using this extension in GEDitCOM (instead of GEDitCOM II), the export always exports the entire file and currently only supports options 4, 5, and 6 below. Although options 1, 2, and 3 are not available via an extension in GEDitCOM, those options can be done by manual exporting methods explain in the GEDitCOM help information.

Share GEDCOM File including multimedia (if has any)

This option exports your entire file to a .ged file. If your file has multimedia objects, it will make copies of files or include thumbnails for any multimedia objects for sharing as well. The process is:

1. Choose the "Share GEDCOM File" command in the Extensions menu.
2. Choose "Share GEDCOM File including multimedia (if has any)" and click "OK" (this selection not needed when using GEDitCOM).
3. Choose a sharing option from the list (as explained below) and click "Next".
4. Choose a file name (ending in .ged) and click "Save".

The export process will run with progress displayed in the scripting window. When done, you will have a file or a compressed folder for sharing your genealogy data in a GEDCOM file.

Share selected family tree

This option exports a selected number of generations of ancestors or descendants of the currently selected individual to a subset .ged file. If your exported data is connected to multimedia objects, it will make copies of files or include thumbnails for any multimedia objects needed by the export as well. The process is:

1. Before starting the extension, open an ancestor or descendant family tree window, select an individual, or select a family. If you opened an ancestor or descendant family tree, expand and contract branches to show the individuals you want exported.
2. Choose the "Share GEDCOM File" command in the Extensions menu.
3. Choose the "Share selected family tree" and click "OK".
4. If you started by selecting an individual or a family, respond to the following two questions about the family tree to share:
   • Choose "Ancestors" or "Descendants" and click "Next".
   • Choose the number of generations to include in the exported family tree and click "Next".
5. Choose a sharing option from the list (as explained below) and click "Next".
6. Choose a file name (ending in .ged) and click "Save".

The export process will run with progress displayed in the scripting window. When done, you will have a file or a compressed folder for sharing your genealogy data in a GEDCOM file.

Details on the Export Output

This extension provides six options for sharing:

1. Will open in other software (GEDCOM 5.5.1) — this option is best to import into other genealogy software. If you export has multimedia, the GEDCOM file and all needed multimedia will be copied to a folder, and the folder will be compressed to a .zip file, See below on importing to other software and how that software might treat multimedia objects.
2. Will open in other software (GEDCOM 5.5) — this option is the same as the first one except it exports an older-style GEDCOM 5.5 file. Use this option only if the software being used for import does not support GEDCOM 5.5.1 provided by the first option.
3. Will open in GEDitCOM II on different computer — this option will export a GEDCOM file compatible with GEDitCOM II including all multimedia (in a "multimedia" folder) and compress the result into a .zip file that can be transferred to another Mac and read by GEDitCOM II. Although this style works, it is not commonly needed. Instead of a GEDCOM file (with extension .ged) you can simply compress your GEDitCOM II file (with extension .gedpkg) and transfer it along with multimedia files to another computer (this type of transfer is easiest if you keep multimedia objects in the same folder as the .gedpkg file).
4. Will open in GEDitMobile on iPhone — this option exports a GEDCOM file that embeds multimedia objects as thumbnails. The resulting .ged file alone can be input to the GEDitMobile iPhone app (check App store for availability) and it will display all data along with thumbnails of multimedia images.
5. Will open in GEDitCOM II on different computer (thumbnails) — this option is the same as previous one except it will also include some GEDitCOM II specific settings (such as albums). You can transfer just the resulting .ged file to another Mac and open in GEDitCOM II; the import will have all individuals and thumbnails of multimedia images. A good use of this option is to bring your data on a laptop for travel without needing to copy over all multimedia image files.
6. Will open in GEDitCOM II on this computer — this option will export a GEDCOM file to open in GEDitCOM II on the same computer. It will not copy multimedia objects, because they are already on the computer. Use option 3 instead if you want to transfer for GEDitCOM II on different computer. This option is most useful for exporting a subset file containing just the members of a family tree.

Options 3, 4, 5, and 6 rely on later reading the exported GEDCOM file in GEDitCOM II or in the compatible GEDitMobile iPhone app. All data and multimedia (either as files or thumbnails) should transfer correctly. Note: If using this extension in GEDitCOM (instead of GEDitCOM II), the export currently only supports options 4, 5, and 6.

Options 1 and 2 are when you want to share a GEDCOM file with someone who does not have GEDitCOM II or someone using other genealogy on a Windows PC (or a Mac with different software). You can share your data by sending the compressed .zip file. The person you share the file with should extract all files from the .zip file (by double clicking the file on a Mac or using Windows file extraction methods) and then import the one .ged file into their genealogy software. The quality of the import will depend on the software used by your friend. Not all programs are as good as GEDitCOM II at importing GEDCOM files. Usually most data will be read fine, but some less common data might get lost. One big challenge is transferring multimedia. This export will package multimedia objects in a form most likely to be accepted by other genealogy software. If this method does not work, it is likely that the receiving software simply does not support importing multimedia objects. The other software might have options to manually link to multimedia images that will be provided in the extracted files. The only difference between options 1 or 2 is use of GEDCOM 5.5.1 ot 5.5. Most software can import 5.5.1. If problems arise, you can try using 5.5 instead.