Import a family tree file (GEDCOM)

Bring the people from your genealogy program into Treeshy with a .ged file, so you do not have to type every name again.

A GEDCOM file is the standard file that genealogy programs and websites use to share a family tree. Its name ends with .ged. It holds the names, the dates and who is related to whom.

Treeshy reads this file and draws the tree for you.

A GEDCOM import from start to finish, with an invented family.

Save a .ged file from your genealogy program

Where to find it: Your genealogy program or website

Open the program or website where your family tree is kept. Look for a menu item that exports or downloads the tree as GEDCOM. Its name differs from program to program.

Save the file on your computer and remember where you saved it. For a first try, a small file with a few generations is the easiest to check.

Open the editor

Where to find it: Get started → Try the editor, or My projects → Open

Import works in the free editor and in your own projects. In the free editor, choose Try the editor in the Get started menu.

Press Add data

Where to find it: Toolbar at the bottom → Add data (the plus button)

Press Add data at the bottom of the screen. A menu opens. Choose Upload GEDCOM (.ged) file.

The Add data menu with Upload GEDCOM (.ged) file between Start from scratch and Create an empty tree.
Choose Upload GEDCOM (.ged) file.

Confirm and choose your file

Treeshy asks: Replace all current tree data and text views? Your file replaces the people on the canvas now.

Press OK. Then choose your .ged file on your computer.

A window asking Replace all current tree data and text views? with the OK and Cancel buttons.
Press OK, then choose the file.

Check the people

Treeshy draws a card for each person in the file, with lines between relatives.

Read each card. Names show the family name first, for example Hartley Thomas. To change how a name reads, click the card, change Name as it should appear and press Save.

If a card has no name, your program may store the name in a way Treeshy cannot read. Type it on the card instead.

A three-generation family tree of the invented Hartley family right after the import, with names crowding the narrow cards.
Every person in the file gets a card.

Make room for long names

Where to find it: Settings (the gear button) → Settings → Node layout and frame → WIDTH

Long names may not fit on the cards. Press the gear button and open Node layout and frame.

Move the WIDTH slider to the right, or press its plus button, until the names fit. Then press Center content at the bottom of the screen.

Node layout and frame open on the left, with the WIDTH slider moved right and wider cards on the canvas.
Wider cards make room for long names.

Add photos

Where to find it: Click a person card → Person actions → Upload image

Click a person card. Press Upload image, choose a photo from your computer and press Save. Repeat this for each person you have a photo of.

The imported family tree with a picture on the card of Hartley Thomas.
A photo added to an imported person.

Photos named inside your GEDCOM file are copied only in your own projects, with a plan: Treeshy downloads the ones linked on the web, as long as they are PNG or JPEG files within the upload limit, and tells you how many it skipped. Photos that point to files on your computer are always skipped. The free editor imports the people but not these photos.

  • Make your first family tree in the editor

    Start from a ready-made tree in the free editor, type the names, add photos, and change the colors and the layout. No account needed.

  • People and photos

    Change a person's name and dates, add relatives, upload or remove photos, delete a person, and choose what every card shows.

  • Layout and tree direction

    Arrange the people as a classic chart or on a tree crown, choose which way the tree grows, and set the space between cards.

Still stuck? Look for your question in the FAQ, browseall guides, or write to us.

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