There are several methods of data transfer between genealogy programs; synchronisation, database copying, direct import, direct export and GEDCOM transfer. You will surely to use the last one, as practically all genealogy programs support GEDCOM. The different methods all have advantages and drawbacks. Some experimentation may be required to figure out what works best for you, but you are likely to end up using different transfer methods for combinations of programs.
The original method of transferring data between genealogy applications was to re-key it.
The original method of transferring data between genealogy applications was to re-key it.
That is doable as long as your database is tiny, but quickly stops practical as your database gets larger.
You really do not want to have to use the original method.
In the early days of genealogy software, direct import became the second method.
In the early days of genealogy software, direct import became the second method; utilities would read the databases of genealogy programs directly.
That may seem handy, but are several serious drawbacks associated with this approach.
Most vendors do not publish their database format, so the creator of the utility
has to spend a significant amount time figuring out the database format instead of creating the utility features.
Another problem is that the utility breaks as soon as the database format changes;
the creator will regularly have to figure how the new databases format differs the old one to make it work again.
Meanwhile, the audience for the utility remains rather limited, because it can be only be used with the few programs it knows the database format of.
A creator that tries to support many programs, will soon be spending most of their time trying to keep abreast of databases format changes.
A common data exchange format solves all these issues.
The third transfer method is GEDCOM, a file format for the exchange of genealogy data. The GEDCOM file format was created to end the reliance on direct databases access; programs no longer need to read or write third-parties databases directly, they only need to read and write GEDCOM files.
The GEDCOM file format was created to end the reliance on direct databases access.
GEDCOM is not perfect. AS embarrassing large number of alternatives for GEDCOM have been proposed over time, yet GEDCOM remains the de facto standard. Practically all genealogy software supports GEDCOM, and one major piece of advice experienced genealogists regularly give to beginners is to avoid products that do not support GEDCOM.
Vendors love to add new and unique features to their software.
You may like their software because of it, but chances are that the GEDCOM specification does not support their shiny new features.
The vendor can still export the associated data to a GEDCOM file, as GEDCOM allows for vendor-specific extension.
That may sound hunky-dory, but there are two problems with that.
First of all, some vendors refuse to export the data, most likely in an attempt to lock you in to their product.
In fact, at least one vendor has been known to bluntly lie that their product does not export the data because GEDCOM does not allow it.
The truth is that GEDCOM allows vendor-specific extensions specifically so that all data can be exported.
Secondly, that the data can be exported does not ensure that any other program can import it.
The data will only get imported if the vendor of the importing program supports similar features, and goes to trouble of supporting those extensions.
In many cases, all basic data will transfer fine, but application-specific data will not.
This is one reason that GEDCOM sometimes gets a bad rap.
It is partly because of that bad rap, but mostly because direct import is easier to use and yet another feature to brag about, that several vendors offer direct import from competing products, despite the significant effort it takes to create and maintain that feature.
If all genealogy software vendors were to spent a bit more time on providing quality GEDCOM export, they wouldn't have to spent so much time on not-quite-GEDCOM import...
Most problems transferring data through GEDCOM files do not stem from any GEDCOM limitation, but from poor GEDCOM support by the vendors who claim to support it. Many vendors spent a great deal of time on GEDCOM import as well a direct import, yet treat GEDCOM export as nothing more that a check mark feature. Many seem to think that they can break rules, ignoring maximum fields length, placing data in the wrong place, and so on, while complaining that other vendors break the rules in other ways... If all genealogy software vendors were to spent a bit more time on providing quality GEDCOM export, they wouldn't have to spent so much time on not-quite-GEDCOM import...
One reason to use multiple genealogy programs is to have your data available on multiple platforms;
on your desktop, your tablet or mobile phone and the web.
Today, several genealogy software vendors cater to this wish with a multi-platform genealogy suite.
A multi-platform suite has obvious appeal. You don't have to pick and choose different programs, nor figure out how to use them together. The vendor not only takes care of making sure the different program in the suite work together, they may even offer the ability to edit your data anywhere you like (desktop, mobile app or web), and promise that their synchronisation technology will make sure all changes are propagated to all platforms.
The key idea of synchronisation is to transfer the entire database just once, and after that, only transfer the changes since the lasts sync.
The key idea of synchronisation is to transfer the entire database just once, and after that, only transfer the changes since the lasts sync. Done right, synchronisation will be fast, and not depend on your database size, but only on how much you changed since the last sync.
Synchronisation is great, so many vendors are working on it,
but we are still in the early days of automatic synchronisation between genealogy products,
and today's reality is that the synchronisation technology does not always work as well as intended.
Take advantage of synchronisation technology, it is great when it works, just be prepared for the worst; make sure you have backups.
Users of Ancestry.com Family Tree Maker have not only complained that attempts to synchronise with their Ancestry Member Tree failed,
or that the synchronisation speed is glacial, but also that synchronisation between the desktop and web databases was lost (which necessitates a re-establishing sync through another full database copy),
and even that an attempt at synchronisation messed up their database beyond repair.
Ancestry.com has sold Family Tree Maker to Software MacKiev, and is now working with Software MacKiev to improve the synchronisation experience.
One of the reasons that synchronisation between different products can be problematic is that the different products use different databases formats;
simply put, the synchronisation must not only transfer data, but also translate
between the different formats.
This particular problem can be addressed by using the same database format on multiple platforms.
One vendor that has chosen to use the same database formats on all platforms is RootsMagic; The RootsMagic desktop application, mobile application and web hosting service all use the same databases format. Today, RootsMagic does not offer synchronisation between these platforms. To transfer your data, you copy or upload your entire database.
The major drawback of single vendor genealogy suite is that their synchronisation or database copying only works between their desktop application, their mobile app and their web site.
Once you choose that genealogy suite, you are practically locked into that vendor.
Today, there are some desktop programs that synchronise with multiple web sites, and web sites that work with multiple desktop programs.
This is likely to improve further, but not very fast, as there is no industry standard for genealogy synchronisation, and vendors have to it work on a case-by-case basis.
Several vendors of desktop genealogy application offer direct import of data from competing products. For example, Family Tree Maker can import Legacy Family Tree database directly, and RootsMagic can import Family Tree Maker databases directly.
The obvious benefit of direct import is ease of use; there is just one action to perform.
The obvious benefit of direct import is ease of use; there is just one action to perform.
When there is no direct import capability, you would first export a GEDCOM file from one genealogy program,
and then import that GEDCOM file into the other genealogy program; two actions.
A second and arguably more significant benefit is that direct import may provide better, namely more complete, transfer of your data.
There is no fundamental reason why this is so, using a GEDCOM file should transfer data just as well,
but there is an expectation among users that direct import works as least as well as GEDCOM export & import,
so vendors spend tend to spend their time perfecting their direct import feature.
Not all vendor claims of direct import ability are completely true. For example, Millennia claims that Legacy Family Tree can import Personal Ancestral File database, but PAF is a Unicode-based genealogy application and even the latest version of Legacy Family Tree still isn't, and that makes it impossible for Legacy Family to import every PAF database without loosing or mangling data.
Several products offer direct export. For example, Personal Ancestral File can export your data to a PAF for Palm OS database (a branded edition of GedStar 3.1), which allows you to carry your database on a Palm handheld. However, export to third-party database formats is a fairly rare feature. More common is the ability to export to an old database format of product itself.
Just as with other database-products, the format of the database used by a genealogy program may change with the software version. It most often changes with a major upgrade (change in major version number), but that is not hard rule, and it may change with a minor upgrade. When the database format has changed, the new version of the programs will often prompt you for the database conversion, to inform you about the change and allow you to keep a backup in the old format - just in case.
The vendor makes sure the latest product can read databases created by previous version,
but older versions of the software cannot read the databases created by newer version.
If you and a distant cousin are using the same software, you can collaborate by sending your databases to each other.
However, if you upgrade to the latest version with a new database format, but your cousin does not, their software can no longer read your database...
That is why some software offers the ability to export your data to an old database format.
For example, Software MacKiev Family Tree Maker cannot only import data from older Ancestry.com Family Tree Maker database formats,
but also export your data back to these older Ancestry.com Family Tree Maker database formats.
Exporting data to an old database format may lose some data that the old format does not support.
Exporting data to an old database format may lose some data that the old format does not support. Vendors rarely document the limitations of this export capability. The way to figure out if anything important gets lots is to round-trip your data - export to the old format, import that copy into a new database - and compare the round-trip results with your original database. One way to compare databases if to do a full GEDCOM export for both, and compare the GEDCOM files.
There are several methods of data transfer between genealogy programs; synchronisation, database copying, direct import, direct export and GEDCOM transfer. They all have advantages and disadvantages, and you may end up using all of them.
You should choose a genealogy program that allows you to get your data out.
Its import capabilities do not matter much, as long as you can get your data in.
What matters once you put your data in, is that you can get it out again.
So, obviously, the program should offer quality GEDCOM export.
The better the GEDCOM export is, the easier it will be to import (all of) your data into another product.
There's another, not so obvious and even paradoxical consideration; you should consider the import features of other programs.
Paradoxically, when vendors claims that their product can easily and flawlessly import data from a competing product, they do so in an attempt to woe you into buying their product, but are actually giving you a reason to buy the competing product.
Vendors like to draw your attention to how well their product imports not-quite-GEDCOM files from other products. As a savvy user, you should demand quality GEDCOM export; after all, you want to get your data out again, but you should not ignore the information on the import capabilities.
Paradoxically, when vendors claims that their product can easily and flawlessly import data from a competing product, they do so in an attempt to woe you into buying their product, but are actually giving you a reason to buy the competing product; you can safely choose that product, as you will be able to get your data out again.
Copyright © Tamura Jones. All Rights reserved.