Family Tree Maker exports a GEDCOM from the File menu. It is one of the better exports because it can copy media into a folder next to the file, which is exactly what GED-VIEW's media folder feature wants.

The steps

  1. Open the tree in Family Tree Maker.
  2. File > Export.
  3. Choose Entire file (or a selection).
  4. Set the output format to GEDCOM 5.5.
  5. Tick the options you want (below).
  6. Click OK, choose where to save, and let it run.

Labels are as of mid-2026.

The options

  • Include private facts and Include private notes. Untick these if the file is going to someone else.
  • Privatize living people. Replaces living people's details with "Living". Tick it for anything you are going to share. Leave it off for your own copy.
  • Include media files. Tick this. Family Tree Maker copies photos and documents into a folder next to the .ged, and the paths inside the file point at that folder. Open the .ged in GED-VIEW, connect that folder with Connect media folder in the file menu, and the pictures show up.

What is in the file

Everything Family Tree Maker knows: people, facts, notes, sources with detail, media references, and a number of its own tags for things the standard has no field for (military service, parent relationship types, and so on). If the tree came from Ancestry through FamilySync, the Ancestry record references come along too.

Next

Export with Include media files ticked, then open the .ged in GED-VIEW and connect the folder that appeared next to it as the media folder.