The Program setting on the Convert page works in both directions. As the program a file came from, it tells Convert what the file's underscore tags mean, so they can become standard GEDCOM for everyone else. As the program a file is going to, it limits the version to what that program reads and adds the tags it expects. Plain GEDCOM (any program) is the default and the right choice when the destination is unknown; 5.5.1 against 7 is the version guide.

What the setting changes

  • Version. Only the versions the program reads are offered. Every program here reads 5.5.1; Plain GEDCOM, FamilySearch and Reunion read 7 too.
  • Media. Each program refers to media its own way: a web address, a full path on the computer that exported, or a path next to the file. The files themselves travel only in a GEDZIP or a zip with a media folder.
  • Tags. A tag the target reads stays. One it does not read becomes the standard structure that says the same thing where there is one; otherwise it stays, with a note in the report. Data only its own program can use (RootsMagic's colors, Legacy's report settings, Ancestry's media metadata) is dropped for anyone else and counted.
  • The preferred photo. MyHeritage, Ancestry, Family Tree Maker, RootsMagic and Legacy mark it with _PRIM Y; a file written for them gets the mark on everyone's first photo. For every other program the preferred photo is moved first instead.

What the tags mean is in the custom tags guide. Below, what Convert does with each program's own.

Program by program

Plain GEDCOM (any program)
  1. Reads 5.5.1 and 7; media references stay as written.
  2. Program-specific tags with no standard equivalent stay in the file; a program that does not know them ignores them.
MyHeritage
  1. Reads 5.5.1. MyHeritage links media by web address; files are packed only when you have downloaded them and connected the folder.
  2. From MyHeritage: the last-update stamp becomes a change date, the married name a name entry of type married; its record ID stays as a tag other programs ignore.
Ancestry
  1. Reads 5.5.1; media by web address.
  2. From Ancestry: child relationships become the pedigree line, an also-known-as name a name entry of type aka, the FamilySearch ID an EXID in 7 or a REFN in 5.5.1. Ancestry record IDs (_APID) are kept; they only work inside Ancestry.
Family Tree Maker
  1. Reads 5.5.1; media by a full path on the computer that exported.
  2. From Family Tree Maker: the preferred photo moves first; child relationships become the pedigree line; its custom facts (military service, funeral, height, medical condition and the rest) become events or facts with a type; the cause of death goes onto the death event.
  3. For Family Tree Maker: custom facts written by other programs arrive as standard events with a type; Family Tree Maker shows them under "Other".
FamilySearch
  1. Reads 7 and 5.5.1; media by web address. FamilySearch works best with GEDCOM 7; choose 7.0 unless the receiving program cannot read it.
  2. For FamilySearch: a FamilySearch ID written by Ancestry, Family Tree Maker or RootsMagic is kept, since FamilySearch reads it.
Reunion
  1. Reads 5.5.1 and 7. Reunion expects media next to the file; the zip with a media folder keeps the paths working.
  2. From Reunion: the preferred photo mark is understood; a Reunion file has few other tags of its own.
Gramps
  1. Reads 5.5.1; media by a full path from its base media folder.
  2. From Gramps: Gramps attributes arrive as standard facts with a type; its parent relationships (adopted, step, foster) become the standard pedigree line. The call name (_RUFNAME) has no GEDCOM equivalent and stays as written.
RootsMagic
  1. Reads 5.5.1; media by a full path.
  2. From RootsMagic: colors, source templates, footnote formats, research logs and event definitions are RootsMagic-only and are dropped for every other program; web tags, sort dates and to-do items stay as tags other programs ignore; witnesses become associations with a role in GEDCOM 7.
Legacy Family Tree
  1. Reads 5.5.1; media by a full path.
  2. From Legacy: a "no children" mark becomes the standard count of zero, a private mark a privacy restriction, and web and e-mail addresses take their standard tags; tag marks, preferred-spouse marks, event and place definitions, report formatting and scrapbook flags are Legacy-only and are dropped for every other program.
Geni
  1. Reads 5.5.1; media by web address.
  2. From Geni: the second marriage tag (_MAR) is dropped next to a standard marriage and renamed without one; the current last name, written as a married name, becomes a name entry of type married next to the birth name.
The Master Genealogist
  1. Reads 5.5.1; media by a full path.
  2. From The Master Genealogist: witnesses and other participants of an event (_SHAR) become associations with a role in GEDCOM 7 and stay as written in 5.5.1; the dates it puts on names and notes stay as tags other programs ignore; old address and phone spellings take their standard tags.
Personal Ancestral File
  1. Reads 5.5.1; media by a full path.
  2. From PAF: only the shared rules apply. Military service, funeral and mission become events with a type; old e-mail, web and fax spellings take their standard tags.

Next

Open Convert, choose the program the file is going to, and read the list under the dropdowns: it says, before anything runs, what that program cannot carry. The report afterwards names every tag that changed.