TreeAlive

How to export a GEDCOM file from Ancestry

On Ancestry the export sits in Tree Settings, under Manage your tree. Ancestry prepares the file before the download link appears, so a big tree can sit there a few minutes. The download is a .zip, and TreeAlive opens it as it is.

Step-by-step instructions

Open your tree

On a computer, sign in at ancestry.com, click Trees at the top, and choose your tree.

Open Tree Settings

In the toolbar on the left, click More (the three dots) and choose Tree Settings.

Click Export tree

On the right side of the Tree Settings page, under Manage your tree, click Export tree.

Let Ancestry prepare the file

Click Export and wait while Ancestry prepares the file. A big tree can take a few minutes.

Download your file

Click Download Your GEDCOM File. It arrives as a .zip file, and TreeAlive opens the .zip as it is, so there is no need to unzip it.

Tip

Only the owner of a tree can export it. If a relative shared their tree with you, ask them to export it and send you the file. The Ancestry phone app has no export, so do this on a computer. If the file is still generating after ten minutes, refresh the page and click Export again.

See what you'll create

Watch a sample video Watch an ancestry journey unfold across the map over hundreds of years. Watch video

Explore the Time Machine Click any ancestor to see their world on a real historical map from their era. Explore example

Upload your GEDCOM and watch the family move

You choose a starting ancestor, and the map fills in from the places in the file.

Upload your GEDCOM Free · No account needed · We keep no copy of your tree