What are Gedcom data?

In Gedcom data ancestor and family data of a family tree are saved. This format is supported by many genealogy programs and therefore it is suitable to send a family tree from one program to another.

Gedcom is from the English and means Genealogical Data COMmunication.

Gedcom data are recognizable through the data ending “.ged”.

These data are only text based and viewable with any text editor.

Therefore the family researcher can change the data manually later on.

This format is also criticized because it often cannot transfer family trees completely into another program. A software uses orders that another program does not know or could interpret differently. Therefore large and data intensive family trees often miss information that the family researcher himself has to complete again afterwards.