Step 1: export a GEDCOM file from your tree
A GEDCOM (.ged) file is the standard way family tree programs hand a tree to other programs. Pick the one you use. The steps below follow each company's own help page, and menus can change, so check the linked page if yours looks different.
Ancestry
- Click the Trees tab and select your tree.
- Click More (the three dots) in the toolbar and choose Tree Settings.
- On the right, under Manage your tree, click Export tree.
- When it finishes generating, click Download Your GEDCOM File.
The download arrives inside a zip file, so unzip it to get the .ged file. Photos and other media are not part of a GEDCOM, and the preview does not use them. Source: Ancestry's help page on uploading and downloading trees.
MyHeritage
- On the Family Tree tab, click Manage trees.
- Find your tree, click Actions (the three dots) and choose Export to GEDCOM.
- Click Begin the export. When it is done, MyHeritage emails you a link; click it to download the file.
Source: the export articles in MyHeritage's help center.
Family Tree Maker
- Choose Export from the File menu and click Continue.
- Choose Entire file to export the whole tree (or Selected individuals for part of it).
- In the Output format list, choose a GEDCOM option.
- Name the file, check that it will be saved as a GEDCOM file (*.ged), and click Export.
There is also a Privatize living people option; if you tick it, first and middle names of living people are left out of the file. Source: Family Tree Maker's help page on GEDCOM export and import.
FamilySearch
FamilySearch's own page on downloading a tree says that GEDCOM export is no longer supported there, and points to family tree apps in its Solutions Gallery. If your tree lives on FamilySearch, use one of those apps (or a program you already keep a copy in) to export a GEDCOM file. Source: FamilySearch: Download your family tree.
Step 2: preview the whole tree
- Open the free preview and choose your .ged file. It is read in your browser; the file is not uploaded.
- The home person defaults to the first person in the file. For a whole family, choose the oldest ancestor you have and the Descendants view. For one person's line, choose them and Ancestors.
- Read the size check under the chart. It says how many people are in the chart and whether it fits a 24x36 inch poster with names at 8pt and dates at 7pt. If it does not, it says how large a sheet it would need instead of shrinking the type.
About printing
Printed 24x36 inch posters are coming soon; ordering is not open yet and nothing can be bought on this site today. The preview is free.
Branchwall is an independent tool and is not affiliated with Ancestry, FamilySearch or MyHeritage. Program names are used only to say which GEDCOM files the preview can read.