Quantcast
Channel: Family Tree Maker software - Family History & Genealogy Message Board
Viewing all 22081 articles
Browse latest View live

Re: How to enter names of royalty

$
0
0
Here is how I've handled the issue that you raise. I'm sure that it is probably not the way that others deal with it but it works for me because it sets those without surnames apart from those who do and it groups all of them without surnames together near the top of the Index to the left of the FTM screen.

During the era when surnames were not used, I use a backslash "\" in the surname field. In the title field is where I enter their title(s). Because Roman numerals (I, II, III, etc.) can be difficult to differentiate between the capital letter "i" and junior, senior, etc., I place them inside of parenthesis. Example: William (I) of England \ in the Name field, William the Conquerer in the Also known as field, King of England in the Title field.

I also capitalize everything in the surname field so that it is obvious what is a surname and what is not.

Best regards. You'll figure out what works best for your need.

How do I create a GEDCOM file from ancestry.com

$
0
0
hello
How do I create a GEDCOM file from ancestry.com
and import to family treemaker 2014
I have user but not login in family treemaker 2014
Thank

Re: How do I create a GEDCOM file from ancestry.com

$
0
0
You must be the owner of said Ancestry tree and then just import from within FTM.
No GEDCOM needed.

Re: How do I create a GEDCOM file from ancestry.com

$
0
0
Also, if you own the tree, you can download the GEDCOM file. The GEDCOM can then be imported into any application the accepts GEDCOM files, including FTM.

Re: How do I create a GEDCOM file from ancestry.com

$
0
0
David, if aslani606 is using FTM2014, then he/she won't be able to sync with Ancestry, so will need to export a GEDCOM and then import it into FTM.

As to the original question, how to export a GEDCOM from Ancestry:

1) Go to the required tree in Ancestry [edit: as others have said, you MUST be the owner of the tree to download it]
2) Click on the "XXXXX tree" drop-down at the top-left and select "Tree settings"
3) On the Tree Settings page that opens, on the right-hand side under "Manage your tree" there's a green button labelled"Export tree". Click that and it will say "Generating GEDCOM"
4) When it's finished (you can go elsewhere then come back to the page later if you like), the button changes to "Download your GEDCOM file"
5) Click the "Download..." button and select where you want to save the GEDCOM file, e.g. your desktop or other suitable folder, and click "Save"

Then in FTM (this is for FTM2017, but it should be similar in FT2014), select "Import as new tree" from the menu, navigate to the gedcom file you downloaded then click "Open" and follow the instructions to create the new tree in FTM.

Remember that GEDCOMs don't include any media (just links to the media), so it might be better to upgrade to FTM2017 to avoid the need to export a GEDCOM - FTM2017 talks directly to Ancestry and can download a complete tree, optionally including all media, much more easily, as David suggests.

Re: How do I create a GEDCOM file from ancestry.com

$
0
0
As well as the other answers you can also use RootsMagic Essentials (free) to download the tree and all media. However, the format in RootsMagic is not always the same as in FTM some details may be different.

Also, if you upload an FTM2017 file without media and use RM to connect to it you can download the tree plus all Ancestry media, if you have a subscription.

The RootsMagic site has more details and videos. I use both RM and FTM2017 to ensure I have usable copies in case FTM or Ancestry messes up...

(RM also has the useful facility of connecting to a website whose name may not be mentioned.)

Profile Photo Dimensions

$
0
0
What are the "ideal" dimensions for FTM and ancestry.com profile photos? I want to crop images to best fit and frame my ancestors for the profile photo, but will do that in photoshop rather than in the ftm/ancestry photo uploader. Has anyone found this secret? I've searched high and low but cannot find the scalable dimensions (i.e. 4" x 6" or 640 x 480 or 1024 x 768). Ancestry.com seems to prefer a square image, though I'm basing that solely on the white area left when uploading a rectangular image. Any thoughts?

Re: Profile Photo Dimensions

$
0
0
Both FTM and Ancestry don't seem to provide info on size because both describe the process as using a standard photo (zoomed to an area set by the user) rather than a dedicated portrait photo.

See Software MacKiev for general media info.
https://support.mackiev.com/017658-Comparing-FTM-and-Ancestr...

Here are some thoughts:
Despite FTM using a square and Ancestry using a circle the "sides" of both are a 1:1 ratio regardless of the actual measurement used. i.e. 2" by 2" (2" diameter) or 3" by 3" (3" diameter) both scale the same. If you use a square as long as you center your face it won't matter when the circle clips the square's corners and then you only need one profile photo shape. [If you are using a photo editing program like Photoshop simply draw a selection circle from the center point of the square to the edge of the square to temporarily see what will be clipped in a circle profile shape.]

If you are just worried about online/screen viewing:
Standard web screen resolution is 72 pixels per inch. For a while it was recommended using 96 ppi but high def really figures now to about 140 ppi per one website. However, most computer screens are likely still standard.

So a 3" photo at 72 dpi/ppi is about 3" on screen (disregarding if you have your browser view zoomed in or out) and trying to enlarge the view of it will result is a diggy appearance because all there is is 72 ppi to work with. To enlarge the view you'll need to provide some additional resolution (dpi/ppi) or a larger size of the image. If you are just worried about online viewing 200 ppi/dpi should work but size will come from the photo you are working with.

PPI is pixels per inch which refers to the pixels monitor screens are made of while DPI is dots per inch and is a printing term referring to dots of ink on paper (or another surface)
Some photo editing programs use these terms interchangeably.

If you have Photoshop (Elements or CC) if you scan a small photo at higher resolution (like 600 or higher), you can usually increase the size of the photo by reducing resolution (uncheck resample image) in Resize Image. [ Always work with a copy file not your original scan so you can always go back and not have to rescan the image.] But remember, if your original photo is fuzzy your scan will be fuzzy. Sometimes you can crisp it up by working on (editing) it but not always.

Example: a 2" x 2" image scanned at 600 ppi can be resized with resample image unchecked to 200 ppi so it becomes a 6" x 6" image. If 6"x6" is bigger than you need/want, you can drop the size but keep the resolution by checking the resample image before changing the size so only the size is effected.

Profile photos in FTM's or Ancestry's Family Group Sheets and trees do not print very large so the 200 should more than suffice for those situations. You just have to decide what size image to use.

Printing
Standard minimum for commercial printing (and many photo printing places) is 300 dpi at the size it is to be printed at. Most home printers can work with less resolution but remember you won't be able to enlarge those photos very much so more resolution helps. Since you have your images on your computer you can tweak swap as needed for your projects. Those accessing your online images will be restrained by the size/resolution you select.

So if you plan to use your dedicated profile photos for more than just online, use a 300 ppi resolution and make them a decent size like 3" x 3" if possible.

Lastly, don't forget image compression can effect quality so do not over compress your files like jpg that have compression options.

Hopefully this makes sense for you.

For scanning one's photo collection for preservation which is "another story," there are other recommendations on size and resolution and file format.

Re: Profile Photo Dimensions

$
0
0
"Despite FTM using a square and Ancestry using a circle"

Ancestry does not use a circle. That was a brief experiment in the newest version of the online tree format. The porthole mercifully ended.

Re: Profile Photo Dimensions

$
0
0
Gone Researching -- what an excellent primer for online photo resolution (print, too). If others stumble across this posting it would be well-worth bookmarking.

Given the shape of the portal (gratefully no longer port-hole!), I assumed a square image would fit best for profile photos. Most of the profile photos I use remain rectangular, and I am grateful that FTM and Ancestry each accommodate that by not "forcing" an equilateral image (the rectangles appear as rectangles). While it might be a good compromise between portrait and landscape photos, the square isn't the most flattering for portraiture. My solution so far is to simply treat the square-cropped images as thumbnails, keeping the more flattering portrait dimension in the person's media collection. Of course that is totally subjective -- many online profile pics are square (or round). Funny -- I used to shoot 3 1/4" medium format film (square negative), but rarely printed square photos.

Thanks again for your good reply. I am hoping many will make good use of the info you shared.

Re: Profile Photo Dimensions

$
0
0
Portholes may have sailed away from the trees but they are still used in the Ancestry Member profile pictures over in the DNA area and the profile pages.

The advice given works for either situation or if you plan to use the same photo at another site that does uses circles instead of squares.

Re: Profile Photo Dimensions

$
0
0
docjavadude
Thank you. As a former art director I'm well familiar with medium-format. The only time we used the images more "square" and true to the whole image taken were cover shots. The rest of the time it was figuring out the best crop (portrait or landscape) or we "photoshop-ed" when none of the crops were quite right. And then we went all digital.

Yes portraits are better in "portrait" shape but those younger generations come along and rectangles are so ______ (fill in current equivalent of last decade/century/old or ppphhh.)

Your post sounded like you wanted to create a dedicated profile "square" photo avoiding cropped heads or the non-photo area showing. Considering possible uses (square/circle) ahead of time while you're making them cuts down on the need for a second version later. [FamilySearch FamilyTree uses circles for profile photos.] So I thought to add the tip on how to see what a circle from a square would look like.

If you are interested in sizes etc for other sites, here is a graphic that is updated every year which covers are variety of social sites. Ancestry isn't one of them but most people use at least a site or two. Since you use Photoshop it takes some of the mystery and frustration out of what size/dimension is that photo there.

https://cdn.makeawebsitehub.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/s...

Glad you found it useful. It didn't have the specific answer but a way to make it work.

Re: Profile Photo Dimensions

$
0
0
Well, I am certainly not going to force all my thousands of photos to fit in the silly circle, since the only one I can affect on the DNA page is my own photo.

Splitting family tree into two trees

$
0
0
I am thinking about splitting my family tree into two separate trees, one for my family and one for my spouse's.

Has anyone tried this? (And how does one do that.)

Also, should I even be considering this? My tree has about 23,000 individuals.

Re: Profile Photo Dimensions

$
0
0
BurgessDonnelly -
Please chill. You are not perfect, I am not perfect, no one is perfect.

The original poster mentioned creating a profile shaped image for a person's profile and mentioned using Photoshop. He/she was not talking about every single photo/document and neither was I. That would be silly. If a cropped photo (like FTM and Ancestry describe doing for a profile photo) has a floating hand or an ear or a photo edge (for example) and it bothers someone, then he/she might create a profile shaped image from that photo to use instead if he/she has some Photoshop skills to remove said irritant.

Besides giving him/her a suggestion on how to make a profile shaped photo I suggested a way to make it multi-purpose usable. Because I'm primarily in the DNA area these days, I mistakenly said at the beginning Ancestry used a circle. It doesn't in the online tree but it does for your profile on the profile page and in the DNA area. Both cases have been noted. Additionally some people use more than FTM and Ancestry. There are other websites out there with trees and some, like FamilySearch Family Tree, use circle profile shapes. More than just the original poster will read this post chain. If someone is creating a profile shaped photo and uses more than one tree site the suggestions I gave will help them too.

Let's keep the boards a friendly place so people continue to be willing to help people. Have a nice night.

Re: Splitting family tree into two trees

$
0
0
I've recently done the exact opposite! I merged my tree with that of my partner. One of the reasons was to avoid having to manually duplicate sources, repositories and images between the two - it's always annoyed me that Ancestry (and FTM I think?) doesn't have a facility for global repositories, sources and other things like notes, tasks and images that can be used across more than one tree.

An obvious example would be wedding photos of you and your spouse - if you split your tree, you'll have a duplicated copy in each, and of course if you keep yourself in your spouse's tree and vice versa, you'll have to maintain duplicate copies of those profiles including all associated citations, with the possibility of them getting out of step.

Then of course there's always the possibility that you might have ancestors in common, who'd need to be duplicated unless you keep a single tree.

Anyway, my suggestion would be not to split your tree, but I'd be interested to hear alternative points of view.

Re: Profile Photo Dimensions

$
0
0
Just to add to all the useful contributions above, I thought I'd tell you my current "system" for profile images.

1) I select the best quality and/or highest resolution photo of the person that I can find. Sometimes other members re-post the same image at a lower resolution, so make sure you pick the best. Of course, if you have your own images, the challenge might be which one to select - baby/young/old? happy/sad? profile/full-face? :-)

2) I edit a copy of that image and take an exactly square crop of their face. That avoids unsightly top-bottom or left-right bars that you can get with non-square images. I then save the crop as a JPG [or PNG if it's already in that format] (I use the now-obsolete Picasa, and export the crop at "original size" to somewhere convenient like my desktop, but of course you can use any suitable image editing program)

3) I then resize the cropped square image to a fixed size - I chose 440x440 pixels, which gives a high enough resolution to look good even at high zoom levels without being unnecessarily large, but of course you can use whatever size you like.

I use IrfanView which allows high-quality re-sampling when resizing, and avoids introducing artefacts especially when the original is of poor quality. I then save the resized image in non-lossy PNG format.

As FTM and Ancestry automatically resize the profile, this step isn't strictly necessary, but because I also edit my profile images to add icons (e.g. a coloured dot to indicate relationships etc.) having a standard size and using PNG rather than the lossy JPG make this much easier.

4) Finally I add the edited profile image to the person in FTM (copying into the media folder rather than linking, as with all my images) and then sync with Ancestry. Ideally I should also label the image with something like "profile crop from original image xxxxx", though it's usually obvious that it's taken from another photo in the person's gallery, which should of course have the details of location and dates etc. ;-)

I think the important thing is to work out a system that suits you, then try to stick with that so everything is consistent. Also, if you're like me and sometimes have an extended break from genealogy, do make sure you document all your steps and the programs you use, just in case you forget how you did it!

Re: Splitting family tree into two trees

$
0
0
Your children, their spouses, your grandchildren, and so on will have to be duplicated in both trees. I never considered having more than one tree.

Curt

Re: Splitting family tree into two trees

Re: Profile Photo Dimensions

$
0
0
I do not know what the BIG DEAL with not having a square image.
The only time that these white bands are see is within FTM.

These bands are not visible within the charts, reports and books.
Viewing all 22081 articles
Browse latest View live