This page allows you to import all data from a standard GEDCOM file into a particular tree.

Before Importing: Use your desktop genealogy software to create a standard GEDCOM file (5.5 or 7.0 are preferred, but 4.0 will also work). You may choose to exclude private information for living individuals, but this is not necessary. It is also not necessary to exclude LDS information, as this can be filtered as well depending on user rights.

After you've created your GEDCOM file, the next step is to get it to your web site. Please take note of the following items on the page:

Import GEDCOM From your computer To upload and import your file to your site without using FTP, click on the "Browse" button and locate the file on your hard drive. The name and path of your file will appear in this field after you select it. NOTE: If your GEDCOM file is large (> 2Mb), you can try "zipping" it first (TNG will automatically extract the file after it is uploaded). If the resulting file is still large, you might need to check with your hosting provider before you can upload your file this way, as the server may have a maximum size limit for files uploaded via a web form. If you receive an error during the import, this is likely the case. Try using FTP to copy your file to the GEDCOM folder instead, then import it from there (see below).

Max upload file size: This is the upper limit set by your hosting provider. If your file is larger than this, the upload will fail. To increase the limit, ask your hosting provider to increase the upload_max_filesize and post_max_file values in the php.ini file. If your host can't make that change, upload your file directly to the GEDCOM folder (see next paragraph) and import it it from there instead.

If you used FTP or an online file manager to transfer the GEDCOM or ZIP file to the GEDCOM folder on your site, enter the exact name of your uploaded file here, or click on the "Select" button to locate it on your site. It must be in the GEDCOM folder, or the Select button will not find it. NOTE: If you see a list of files but they are not from your GEDCOM folder, you likely have a path problem. Check your Root Path (Admin/Setup/General Settings) and your GEDCOM path (Admin/Setup/Import Settings).

Note: If you upload/import a ZIP file and include actual media in the file, TNG will extract the media to the appropriate media folders (eg, "photos" or a subfolder of "photos"). See Admin/Setup/Import Settings for more options related to embedded media.

Your GEDCOM file might contain events that TNG considers as non-standard events. Normally, new event or attribute types included in a GEDCOM file are entered into the database, but the data is set to be ignored. You would need to change the status of such a type to "Accept" in order for events or attributes of that type to be imported (in other words, you would need to import your file twice). If you check this option, TNG will automatically set all new event or attribute types to "Accept", and all your events will be imported the first time.

Checking this option will cause only custom event or attribute types to be imported (see Admin/Event / Attribute Types). All other data is ignored. This is an ideal option to select during your initial setup, as it will allow you to see which custom events you have in your gedcom. You can then select which ones to accept and which ones to ignore before importing your entire database.

Select a Tree to receive the imported data (required). If the tree to receive the data does not yet exist, click on the "Add New Tree" button to create it. A small popup box will appear and allow you to enter the information for the new tree.

If you choose this option, all your previous GEDCOM data (people, families, children, sources, repositories, events, notes, associations and citations; not media or anything else) will be deleted prior to the import. NOTE: Links to media will be preserved as long as the people/family/source/repository IDs in your new GEDCOM match the IDs in your existing data. Most desktop genealogy programs assign permanent IDs to each person/family/source/repository, but a few do not. If you have linked in any media items, please check your new GEDCOM to make sure the IDs match before you import, no matter which of these import options you select. It might also be a good idea to backup your tables before performing an import (see Admin/Utilities to perform a backup).

With this option, new records are added and matching records are replaced (matches are determined by ID only). Old data is not deleted.

New records are added, but any matches are ignored (not replaced).

All records are imported, regardless of existing data, but their IDs are recalculated. IDs numbers for the imported records will be added to the first available number (or a number you specify) to create the new ID numbers.

Check this box prior to importing if you want all incoming surnames to be converted to upper case. The surnames will be stored in the database this way, so the process is not reversable unless you import your GEDCOM file again.

If you chose "Replace matching records only" above, you will also see this option. Check this box prior to importing if you do not want the Living flag to be recalculated for individuals that were already in the database.

Matching records will only be replaced if the incoming record is newer than the one in the database. This is based on the "Last Modified" or CHAN date associated with the record in the GEDCOM.

If your GEDCOM contains links to media, selecting this option will allow TNG to import them and set up the appropriate links. You must still copy the physical files associated with these links to the appropriate folders on your site via other means (e.g., FTP). If you do not want to import any media links, make sure this box is not checked prior to performing the import.

If you chose "Append all records" above, you will also see this option. Check the first option to have TNG add the numbers for the incoming IDs to the first available slot in each category (individuals, families, sources, repositories) to create the new IDs. Check the second option if you want TNG to create the new IDs by adding the incoming ID numbers to a specific number (same for each category). If you choose this option, be careful that no records exist in the indicated range or you will have collisions.

Prior to TNG 7, the import did not show a progress bar. Instead, a counter was printed repeatedly to the screen for the number of people and families imported. The new number would always be displayed next to the old number, and soon they would be scrolling off the page. The progress bar is cleaner and more intuitive, but in some cases the old import actually works better because more information is being displayed on the screen, a little bit at a time. If the new import fails for you, you might try checking this option to see if the old import performs any better.

When you're ready, click on the Import Data button to begin the process. You should see a progress bar and a series of counter track the individuals, families, sources, notes and places imported (note: only places with associated latitude/longitude data are counted). A final message will indicate the import has finished properly.

If you do not see the "Finished" message, your data was not completely exported. Click on the "resume" link to resume the import.

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This page allows you to export all data from a particular tree to a standard 5.5 GEDCOM file. The file will be available for download in your GEDCOM folder (as indicated in the Import Settings) and will be given the name of the tree's Tree ID plus ".ged".

Choose a branch from the list to include only people and families from this branch in the exported GEDCOM file.

Checking these boxes will completely exclude living or private individuals and families from the exported GEDCOM file.

Check this option to include information pertaining to all photos, histories and other media linked to individuals, families, sources and repositories in the selected tree. This information includes the media file name, description and notes.

If you check the option to export media links, you also have the option to zip the finished file and include the physical media files mentioned in the GEDCOM file by checking this box. Take note that this could make your file extremely large.

To prepend a common path to each media file name (ie, "C:\myphotos\" or "..\genealogy\"), check the "Export media links" box, then enter that path in the appropriate field (be sure to include a trailing slash). If these lines are left blank, only the file name and path stored in TNG for each media item will be exported in the GEDCOM's "FILE" tag.

If you do not see the "Finished" message, your data was not completely exported. Click on the "resume" link at the top of the page to resume the export.

When the export finishes, you should see a summary of how many people, families, sources, notes, repositories, media and places were exported. It should be noted that only places that have latitude/longitude information or notes will be tallied in the place total.