One of my motivations for investigating ways of--let's say having a clean export from TMG, is the variety of services that are now available for comparing my data to records to suggest new documentation and/or family members. Each of the big data services seems to have its own format and its own preferred contact app, such as: Ancestry has FamilyTreeMaker FamilySearch has a variety, including RootsMagic, Legacy, Reunion and MacFamilyTree Mocavo has--not sure MyHeritage has its own app plus there are the DNA services, and I don't know what FindMyPast or PlaceMyPast like the best. Each one of these seems to have a *different* app to compare my local data to their records. Has anyone looked at what it takes to maintain a genealogical data file in such a way that you can take advantage of any or all data services? I'm thinking that it's a squeaky-clean GEDcom that can be imported and exported from the various helper apps at will, but I'm just starting to investigate it. -- Barbara Zanzig Kirkland, WA Zanzig one name study: http://www.zanziggenealogy.info/ZanzigStudy/index.htm