Family Tree Maker's Genealogy Site: Troubleshooting -- FTM for Windows: Exporting a File to GEDCOM

Exporting a File to GEDCOM

To export a file to GEDCOM, you must be in Family Tree Maker and the file you wish to export must be open. If you are not sure that you have the correct file open, from Family Tree Maker's Help menu, select Family File Status. In the dialog box that Family Tree Maker displays, you will see the name of the currently open file. After verifying that you have the correct file, continue with the following steps.

From the File menu, select Copy/Export Family File.
Family Tree Maker displays the New Family File dialog box.

Figure 1: The New Family File dialog box
Click the Save as type drop-down list and select GEDCOM (*.GED).
In the File name field, you can either keep the name that Family Tree Maker suggests or type another name for your GEDCOM file. It's best if the name you choose is eight letters or less and has the extension .GED. For example, you could type myfamily.ged or smith.ged.
Click the Save in drop-down list and select the drive where you want to save the GEDCOM file.
If you want to save the GEDCOM file in a folder on the specified drive, double-click that folder so that it appears in the Save in field. For example, suppose you want to save the file to floppy disk: Place the diskette in the drive, choose 3½ floppy (A:) from the drop-down list (where A: is the letter assigned to your floppy drive), then click OK.
Click Save.
Family Tree Maker displays the Export to GEDCOM dialog box.

Figure 2: The Export to GEDCOM dialog box

Make your selections in the dialog box. Each of the options is described below.

Note: If you are uncertain which settings to use, please use the default settings provided.

Destination: This field allows Family Tree Maker to check the requirements of the program that will read the GEDCOM file. Use the table below to make the selection. The FTW file type offer the most complete export; select it if you plan to later reimport the file into Family Tree Maker for Windows. If the program you are exporting to is not listed, select PAF.

Select this . . .	To create this type of file . . .
ANSTFILE	Ancestral file of LDS Church
NPS	Temple submission to LDS Church
PAF	Personal Ancestral File, version 2.1 to version 2.3x files.
ROOTS	Roots II, III, IV, V, or Visual Roots
FTM	Family Tree Maker for DOS
FTW	Family Tree Maker for Windows/Macintosh

GEDCOM: Select Version 5.5 whenever possible. If you are exporting to PAF version 2.31 or earlier, select Version 4.

Character Set: Unless you are familiar with these options, use the default setting of ANSI.

Indent Records: You can select this check box to make files more readable in a word processor. However, some programs cannot read indented records, so it is best NOT to select this check box.

Abbreviate Tags: Most programs use abbreviated tags instead of long tags, so it is best to select this check box. (Tags are labels for the fields of information in the GEDCOM file. For example, the tag for occupation is "OCCU".)

If you are satisfied with all the settings in this dialog box, click OK.
Family Tree Maker creates the GEDCOM file and saves it in the drive and directory that you specified in step 4.

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