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GEDCOM FILE

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Penelope

Penelope Report 20 Oct 2009 20:42

Hi! I have a GedCom File on one of my Ancestors, but I can't open it. Can anyone help me? I know there is software I can download to open it for me but don't think my PC has enough memory to take the download. I am wondering if anyone could open it for me if I send it to them?

Penelope

Penelope Report 20 Oct 2009 22:13

Steven - thank you very much for replying and for the advice you have given me. It's true, I probably do need a new computer, but it should manage 250 kb! I quite understand what you say about not opening a file unless you are sure of its content, and must admit I hadn't given that aspect of it any thought. Thanks again!

Michael

Michael Report 21 Oct 2009 13:01

It is a plain text file - nothing dangerous. You can open it in notepad or WordPad (not Word) and take a look - if its a small file with only a few entries it will be easy enough to get the information you want or at least determine if you want it.

There are various applications (including most family tree software) that can open for viewing and import it.

InspectorGreenPen

InspectorGreenPen Report 21 Oct 2009 17:33

You don't need more memory to download a tree program but you do need sufficient space on your hard drive. More memory will make your computer that bit faster for certain operations, but is not a bar to installing new programs.

Quite a few members on here use PAF, which can be downloaded for free from the Family Search (IGI) site. You might want to try that, and when you get the hang of using a tree program, go for something like FTM which is the most popular commercial program.