Could someone please explain to me how I can download a GEDCOM from The Church of Latter Day Saints' Family Search website and HOW TO OPEN IT ??????? Many THANKS, Tom Morris Michigan

Thomas, I'm assuming you have been successful downloading a GEDCOM file from the FamilySearch website since you have apparently gotten to the point where you are trying to open the resulting GEDCOM file. When downloading the GEDCOM file from the Family Search website, make a note of where you are saving the GEDCOM file on your PC. If you are trying to get the GEDCOM file into an FO database, then you don't want to "Open" it. Rather, you want to IMPORT it into the FO database. (However, a GEDCOM file is just a plain text file so if you want to view its contents you can open it with any word processor including Notepad or Wordpad. But you are probably more interested in importing the GEDCOM file. ) So, to import the GEDCOM file, create a new empty FO database. You SHOULD NOT import it in to your working database because you don't know if you can trust the data. While in this new and empty database, click on FILE in the menu bar at the top of your screen. Then click on GEDCOM in the submenu, then IMPORT GEDCOM. Then select the GEDCOM file you want to import. You may have to browse around for the file. As I mentioned earlier, you should have made a note of the location on your PC to which you downloaded the GEDCOM file. Once you've found the GEDCOM file and clicked on the OPEN button, the file will import into your empty database. Allan Plucinik Colorado Springs, CO "Thomas B. Morris" wrote: > Could someone please explain to me how I can download a GEDCOM from The > Church of Latter Day Saints' Family Search website > > and HOW TO OPEN IT ??????? > > Many THANKS, > > Tom Morris > Michigan

You go to the home page at: http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/default.asp Click on the "Search" tab, Enter a name, and hit the search button, Select one of the "Found" individuals (I usually hold down the shift key so that the information shows up in a new window, so that it if isn't one I want I can delete it and be back at the list of "Finds".) Shift - Click on Pedigree or Family until I find what I am looking for. In the upper left corner of the window, click on the link "Download GEDCOM" The "File Download" dialogue window opens where you have a choice to: Open, Save, Cancel or More info. Choose "Save" Here is where my "Save as" Tutorial might come in handy, go to: http://freepages.computers.rootsweb.com/~adelr/index.htm You do not normally OPEN GEDCOM files, you IMPORT them into a new, empty database. Another of my keyboard macros: Create a new database to import this GEDCOM into. Once you have reviewed it you can export and copy to your main database what information you are sure you want. Never import an unknown GEDCOM into an existing database without having a couple of good backups first. Alfred D. Eller http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~adelr/ ========================== ----- Original Message ----- From: "Thomas B. Morris" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, July 21, 2002 6:52 PM Subject: [FO] FHS Family Search GEDCOM > > Could someone please explain to me how I can download a GEDCOM from The > Church of Latter Day Saints' Family Search website > > and HOW TO OPEN IT ??????? > > Many THANKS, > > Tom Morris > Michigan >