Written by Generation Archives.
Family tree guides
These guides cover starting a tree, keeping it private, moving data with GEDCOM, organizing photos, and sharing with relatives. For product comparisons see compare. For blank charts see printables. Short answers are in the FAQ.
Featured
- A Family Echo alternative that brings your tree over, photos included
A free Family Echo alternative that imports your tree with its photos. Drag people anywhere, keep several layouts, and add stories. No subscription.
All guides
- How to import a Family Echo tree, photos and all
Step by step: export your Family Echo tree as Read-only HTML and import it into Generation Archives with photos, relationships, and birth years.
- A free family tree maker for your Sims legacy
Track your Sims legacy family tree for free: every heir, spouse, and adoption, with screenshots tagged to each Sim and a share link for your updates.
- A fictional family tree maker for worldbuilding, fan fiction, and roleplay
Map fantasy dynasties, fan fiction families, and roleplay characters for free. Drag anyone anywhere, keep several layouts, tag portraits, share a link.
- How to show adoptive and step-parents in a family tree
How to show adoptive parents, step-parents, and blended families in a family tree: practical options, honest limits, and a free tool that allows it.
- What is GEDCOM? A plain-English guide to moving family trees between apps
GEDCOM explained in plain English: what a .ged file holds, what it leaves out (usually photos), and how to move a family tree between apps.
- How to start a family tree when you only know your grandparents
How to start a family tree when you only know your grandparents: who to ask, what to write down, and how to leave a blank instead of a guess.
- What to record about a living person, and what to leave off a shared tree
What to write down about a living relative, and what to leave off a family tree that other people can open.
- How to cite a family photo, letter, or interview
How to cite a family photo, a letter, or an interview so someone else can tell where a name or a date came from.
- How to read a pedigree chart
How to read a pedigree chart: the starting person, the parents above them, and what a four-generation form does and does not show.
- How to read a family group sheet
How to read a family group sheet: one couple, their children in birth order, and the dates and places a single page is meant to hold.
- How to start a family tree: a beginner checklist
A beginner checklist for starting a family tree: what to gather, who to ask, how to record what you find, and when to move from paper to software.
- How to interview relatives for family history (with questions that work)
How to interview relatives about family history: how to prepare, questions that work by topic, how to record, and how to turn answers into tree entries.
- How to organize family photos for a family tree
How to scan, name, sort, and identify family photos so they attach cleanly to people in a family tree, with a file-naming scheme that holds up.
- How to import a GEDCOM file, and what usually breaks
How to import a GEDCOM file into a family tree app, what usually survives, what often breaks, and a checklist to verify the import afterward.
- How to export your family tree as GEDCOM, and make it a real backup
How to export your family tree as a GEDCOM file, which version to choose, what the file leaves out, and how to turn an export into a real backup.
- Family tree privacy: public, private, or invite-only, and who you are protecting against
A practical threat model for family trees: who might see your tree, what could go wrong, and how public, private, and invite-only settings compare.
- How to merge duplicate people in a family tree without losing facts
How to find and merge duplicate people in a family tree without losing facts: how duplicates happen, how to confirm a match, and a safe order of steps.
- Using a family tree for a family reunion or an obituary
A practical workflow for using a family tree to prepare a reunion chart, a name tag list, or an accurate obituary, with privacy and accuracy checks.
- How to share a family tree safely with relatives
How to share a family tree with relatives without oversharing: pick what to share, choose a method, set view or edit access, and keep control afterward.
- How to back up your family tree: a 3-2-1 plan
A practical 3-2-1 backup plan for a family tree: what to back up, GEDCOM and photos, how often, where to keep copies, and how to test that a backup works.
- A private family tree you share only with relatives
Keep a family tree private by default, for free. Invite relatives, tag people in photos, and link media you already store. No subscription.