Page 16 - Family History

Miscellaneous

GEDCOM

Most good genealogy software has the ability to import and export what are
known as GEDCOM files. GEDCOM, an acronym for GEnealogical Data
COMmunication, is a proprietary and open de-facto specification for
exchanging genealogical data between different genealogy software. GEDCOM
was developed by The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints as an aid
to genealogical research. A GEDCOM file is plain text and contains

genealogical information about individuals, and meta-data linking these
records together. Most genealogy software supports importing from and/or
exporting to GEDCOM format. You can recognize a GEDCOM file by the suffix:

.GED

It was easy for me when I decided to change to newer software. All I did was
export what I had at the time as a .GED and then import it into my new
program. It is also possible to merge other GEDCOM files that you may find in
your research.

If you have an iPod Touch or a smart

phone you might want to also get a
genealogy-related app. That way
you can transfer a .GED file from
your computer to your phone and
use the data for research when you
are away from home - at the library

for example. If you are mixing it up
with relatives, you can amaze them
that you know the exact date that
Great Grandfather “X” was born!

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