0 @G0@ GUIDES · 1 COUNT 4

Get your tree out of every service.

Your research belongs to you. Every major genealogy service can hand it back as a GEDCOM (.ged) file — these guides show the exact route through each one's menus, what the file includes, and what stays behind.

1 SOUR Ancestry

Export from Ancestry

Tree Settings → Export Tree → Download. Owner-only, and photos stay behind — here's the full picture.

1 SOUR MyHeritage

Export from MyHeritage

Family tree → Manage trees → Export to GEDCOM, free on every plan.

1 SOUR FamilySearch

Download from FamilySearch

The new official 8-generation export from the shared Family Tree — plus the certified-app route for fuller branches.

1 SOUR FTM

Export from Family Tree Maker

File → Export, with the character-set choice that keeps accented names intact.

Then what?

A .ged file is plain text — open it in Notepad and you'll see names between slashes and cryptic tags. To actually read it, drop it into the free viewer. To hand it to relatives, convert it to a printable PDF or a one-file web page. And before importing it into new software, the validator will tell you if anything in the file would trip the import up.