What a GEDCOM file is
GEDCOM (Genealogical Data Communication) is a plain-text file format for family trees, saved with the .ged ending. Family tree programs write it so that another program can read the same people and family links. It lists people and the families that connect them; photos are not part of it. Our export guide shows how to get one from Ancestry, MyHeritage and Family Tree Maker.
How the chart is laid out
- Generations run left to right. The home person is at the left. In the Ancestors view their parents are in the next column, then grandparents, and so on. In the Descendants view their spouses and children follow.
- Every person reachable in the view gets a box with their name and, for people who are not living, their years. There is no cap on the number of generations.
- Right-angle connectors join couples and link parents to children. Boxes are the same width in every column and never overlap.
- Living people are shown by name only, and one switch hides them from the chart.
Will it fit a 24x36 inch poster?
A poster has a fixed size, and type has to stay readable on it. Branchwall sets names at 8pt and dates at 7pt and does not go smaller. So the preview measures the chart and tells you plainly whether it fits a 24x36 inch sheet, and if not, about how large a sheet it would need. In our tests with invented families, a 15-person pedigree and a 147-person descendants chart fit, and a 586-person descendants chart did not. How a tree fits depends on its shape more than its size: a wide tree with many children in the last generation takes the most room.
If your whole tree does not fit, choose a different home person or the other view to chart a smaller part of it, such as one grandparent's descendants.
Printing
Printed 24x36 inch posters are coming soon. Ordering is not open yet and nothing is for sale on this site today. The free preview works now.
Branchwall is an independent tool and is not affiliated with Ancestry, FamilySearch or MyHeritage.