Importing Gedcom file into wikitree

Question

I have a GEDCOM that i have built using MacFamilyTree software on my local Mac.

I would like to upload the entire GEDCOM to WikiTree.

I have created my profile on WikiTree and that of my Mother , Father, and Grandparents.

I then uploaded the gedcom and found three matches. I would now like to upload every person within the GEDCOM using the profiles within wikitree to "anchor" the GEDCOM down.

I have selected the matches that the GECOM upload identified and I chosen the merge radio button (but unticked the skip checkbox). I still see that there are a whole load of people on The Gedcomb review that have a skip checkbox next to them.

 

How do I import everyone?

Comments

Add your profiles one at a time Marko ... or you'll be cleaning up the mess for years! Truly, uploading gedcoms to wikitree is a bad idea :o

Answer 1

My advice is, don't. Sorting out uploaded GEDCOMs can be a nightmare.

Comments

so should I be entering all this manually then? I have over 400 entries in gedcom

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If you want all your hard work to make sense, yes, one at a time is the only way to go :) It will get turned into a shambles if you upload it all with a gedcom.

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I do sympathise, Marko, but Nicky is right and with 400 it is do-able. My total GEDCOM is 4000, but I'm still going slowly with the main lines in first.

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how do you keep a track of what you have already entered?

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You could do it with a to-do list, maybe? http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Category:To-Do_Lists 

I work up one branch at a time, and bookmark where the branch branches ... then when I get to the end of the line I start working my way back down up the branches, one at a time, until I'm right back at the start. It's the only way I can keep track :) Good luck Marco ~ truly, it is well worth doing it manually. It is a bit of work, but nowhere near as much work as fixing up gedcom uploads.

Of course the other way to go is just upload a family lot gedcom at a time, fix them up, then upload another ... and so on. 

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Ditto.

Yes, one family at a time might work, but there would still be a lot to ridy up.itto.

Answer 2

Marko, I speak from experience. I uploaded a GEDCOM when I first joined and have spent far more time cleaning up the mess since then than it would have taken to add the profiles one at a time. Sources are very important to any profile and most GEDCOM files do not import the sources well. You will also find that most other programs handle names differently than WikiTree does so that would require even more editing. You see where this is going? With all of the work to get a GEDCOM approved to import and all of the editing needed after the import you will actually save time and effort by just starting over and adding the profiles one at a time, and you will wind up with a much better profile in the end.

Answer 3

The answers echo my feelings Don't! But in hindsight a little extreme. 2 years on I am still sorting out what I thought was the perfect gedcom. My advice would be to split it down into small (50?) bits if you have anchors include one in each bit maybe. Sort that bit out then add the next out. I have gained a huge GEDCOM from a "reliable" source but no way will I import it. I keep it as reference only. Think of WikiTree as a fresh start :-)

Comments

This would be my advice as well. I agree with all that have said that importing Gedcoms often create a mess, and that is why you should start by adding smaller gedcoms, 50 persons seem a good number.

I still have a lot of cleaning up to do of some imports 1½ years ago, but I still find it easier to create small gedcoms when I have a new family to add, In my genealogy program, i can add sources and they are tranferred fine to Wikitree, but there is some editing to do in order to make it look all right.

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Ok guys, I think you scared me enough =). Manual it is.

 

if I wanted the family members to contribute, would a simple invite do or do I need to place them on the trusted source list?

Answer 4

To answer your question about skips, the system automatically skips individuals born prior to 1700 as well as individuals who have neither a birth nor death date.

Answer 5

I may have missed the point. WikiTree is great :-) My gedcom was rubbish. That's despite culling about 50% before I started.