Answers to the questions people ask most often about opening files, privacy, and what the app can and cannot do.
GEDCOM files, usually ending in .ged, and GEDZIP archives (.gdz or .zip) with their media. GED-VIEW reads GEDCOM 5.3 through 5.5.5, and 7, including every date form (ranges, about and before/after, dual years, BCE, Julian and Hebrew calendar dates). If a program saved a .rmgc, .ftm, .ftb, .gramps or similar, that is the program's own database, not a GEDCOM. Open it in that program and export a GEDCOM first. See the export guides.
Yes. Open a .gdz or .zip the same way as a .ged: pick it or drop it onto the page. The family file inside opens and the photos in the archive appear at once, with no folder to connect. The family file is saved in your browser like any other import; the archive's media stays for the current session only, so open the archive again next time to see the pictures. The GEDZIP guide explains the format.
Most often it is one of four things: it is not actually a GEDCOM, it is missing the last line, the character encoding is wrong, or the file is damaged. The checklist guide walks through each.
Character encoding. The program that wrote the file used one encoding and declared another. GED-VIEW tries several, but some files need re-exporting as UTF-8. The garbled characters guide shows how.
Files with tens of thousands of people open fine; the current limit is 50,000 individuals per file. Very large files take longer to parse, and some views show items in batches so the browser stays responsive.
Yes for reading, including media references. Some newer GEDCOM 7 structures are shown but not all are used yet. The version guide covers what changed.
No. The file is read by your browser on your own computer. Nothing about your tree is sent to any server. The privacy guide explains how to check this yourself.
Some things, on your device only, using the browser's own storage (localStorage and IndexedDB): preferences like theme, language and tree style, pinned and hidden items, and anything you choose to keep under Saved Data, including saved files and recent exports. It never leaves your browser and you can clear it at any time from Saved Data or from your browser settings.
It is not built for it. GED-VIEW loads parts of the app as you open them, so a page you have not visited yet needs a connection. That has nothing to do with your file, which is never sent anywhere either way.
No. None. GED-VIEW does not record that you visited, and does not know how many people use it.
Nothing from the app itself. Your file, your tree, your photos and everything you do in the viewer never reach a server. The only things stored server-side are what you type into the support form, the review form, or the updates signup form, kept as long as needed to reply, publish a review you agreed to, or send updates you asked for. Details are in the Terms of Use.
GED-VIEW is built and maintained entirely by Aleksej, a programmer with four years in the finance industry. He has been building it since November 2024, after gathering the family history from his dad and turning his own Serbian family tree into a GEDCOM with Gramps. He wanted a way to share it that did not require every relative to make an account and set things up, so he built his own site, and made it dynamic and modular enough to handle any GEDCOM as practice for sharpening his skills. Before long it had grown into a full website anyone can use. He is proud of how far it has come.
Because a GEDCOM file does not contain photos. It contains the file names of photos that lived on the computer that made the export. GED-VIEW can show them if you point it at the folder they are in. See why photos are missing and the media folder guide.
Open the file menu in the header and click Connect media folder, then choose the folder your photos live in. GED-VIEW matches files by name to the references in your GEDCOM. The media folder guide has the details.
No. The browser reads them from your disk to display them. If the browser asks whether to copy files, that is copying into the browser's own cache on your computer, not to a server.
In current Chrome and Edge, GED-VIEW reconnects the folder you used last time, automatically or with one click on Reconnect media folder. Other browsers ask you to pick it again each session.
Editing directly on each view is in progress. Until then, edit in your desktop program or on the website your tree lives on, and re-export. The raw GEDCOM Editor can make direct text edits for those comfortable with the format.
Yes. GED-VIEW exports PDF, PNG, Excel and CSV depending on the view, calendar (ICS) files for birthdays and death anniversaries, and a per-person summary of every fact and its citations. The export guide lists what each view offers.
Today, send them the .ged file and a link to GED-VIEW; they open it the same way you do and nothing is uploaded on their side either. Sharing by link is planned, with no change to the privacy model. See sharing without exposing living relatives.
Viewing works. Choosing a media folder is limited on phones because mobile browsers restrict folder access.
About sixty. The interface translations are generated automatically, so they may contain mistakes. If something reads wrongly, the support form is the place to say so. The guides are in English for now.
Use the support form. Say which page it happened on, what you did, and what you expected instead. Your file never leaves your browser, so nobody else can see the record; a short description of it helps a lot.
Yes.
No.
Donations may open at some point, but that is not a priority. The priority is making the product excellent. The most useful thing right now is feedback through the support and review forms.
Each has its own guide. Ancestry and MyHeritage export in a few clicks; FamilySearch needs a partner program because the shared tree has no full export.
Because it is one shared tree rather than a private copy. Programs like RootsMagic Essentials (free) can pull your branch down and export it. The FamilySearch guide walks through it.