Family Tree Maker: GEDCOM Export Guide

Family Tree Maker's export dialog is more granular than most, with privacy and media options worth understanding before you rely on the result — and a couple of hard exclusions that no setting can override.

The export walkthrough

From the File menu, select Export, then choose whether to export your entire file or a selection of individuals (via the Filter Individuals window). Choose GEDCOM from the Output format dropdown, then work through the checkboxes for what to include — private facts, private notes, media files, and whether to limit the export to only items linked to your selected individuals if you didn't choose the entire file. You can also optionally add ZIP password protection to the output at this step. Clicking OK takes you to a second dialog for Destination and Character set, and from there you name the file and save it.

What's excluded by default, and what can never be included

By default, information about people Family Tree Maker considers living is excluded unless you specifically uncheck "Privatize living people," and private facts, notes, and media are left out unless you check the corresponding inclusion boxes. That part is configurable. What isn't configurable: saved publications and tasks are never included in a GEDCOM export, under any settings combination, because neither has a standard GEDCOM structure to hold them. If you're relying on an export to preserve everything in your file, know that these two categories simply don't make the trip regardless of what you check.

Media links are fragile

If you included media in your export, those links only resolve correctly if your Media folder is present on your computer in its original location, with the same file paths that existed when you created the GEDCOM. Moving, renaming, or failing to transfer that folder alongside the GEDCOM file breaks the links inside it — the GEDCOM file itself will still open fine, but the photo and document references inside it will point to files that can't be found.

A damaged source file produces a damaged export

Family Tree Maker's own documentation notes that if your underlying file is damaged, it likely won't produce a clean GEDCOM export either — the export process doesn't repair problems in the source file, it just carries them into the output. If you're troubleshooting an export that looks wrong, it's worth checking the health of the original Family Tree Maker file before assuming the export settings are the problem.

GEDCOM export vs. TreeSync

If your specific goal is moving a tree to or from Ancestry, GEDCOM export isn't your only option, and it's not always the best one: Family Tree Maker's TreeSync feature moves your tree directly with Ancestry, including photos and attached records, in ways a text-only GEDCOM file can't replicate on its own. GEDCOM export is the right tool when you need genuine plain-text portability — moving to different software entirely, or archiving a version of your tree independent of any one platform.

Before you share what you export

Since Family Tree Maker's export carries forward whatever structural issues already existed in your file, it's worth checking the result with the Validator before sending it to someone else or uploading it anywhere — it flags dangling references, one-way family links, and contradictory dates with the line number for each, entirely in your browser.

Sources: Export and Import of GEDCOM Files in Family Tree Maker, via Mackiev support; Syncing an updated tree between Ancestry and Family Tree Maker, via Mackiev support.