I have an empty family tree even though I uploaded a ged file. Surely I do not need to enter it by hand.

Question

I can't find answers to the questions mentioned above. Please do I need to enter my 3400 people by hand? Surely I can use my GED

Answer 1

Under the "My WikiTree" tab, choose "GEDCOMs" to see links to the Gedcom file or files that you uploaded. (From your contributions list, I think you might have uploaded the same file twice.)

Before you can start importing people's profiles, you'll need to review some "suggested matches" (there are instructions for this). This is done to prevent duplicates from being created. After you've reviewed some suggested matches, you'll start seeing "ADD" buttons on some of the people in family groups, so you can start adding profiles to the tree.

PS - It looks like you have a large gedcom file that contains many people who aren't already in WikiTree. Thanks for joining us and contributing. Please stick with the Gedcompare process and get those people added to WikiTree!

Comments

This is the answer to the exact question I had. Although I already uploaded a second GEDCOM file because I thought I had uploaded the wrong file. Will the duplicate be deleted?

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Your extra (duplicate) Gedcom will be deleted automatically 60 days after you last used it.

You could delete it now, but I don't recommend that because both Gedcoms have the same name and it could be too easy to delete the wrong one.

Answer 2

You don't have to enter them all by hand, but you do have to add them to WikiTree individually. I've never added a GEDCOM to WikiTree so I don't have first-hand experience with the process, but the help page for GEDCOMpare is here: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Help:GEDCOMpare

Hopefully your tree will quickly connect to branches already existing on WikiTree and you won't have to add as many! :)

Answer 3

Hi Sandra, I'm Lee Russell and a WikiTree GEDCOM Mentor and I can assist you with any problems you may be having with the GEDCOMpare utility.  While it looks complicated at the start, once you play with it a bit, it becomes easier and easier.

Message me if you would like any assistance or just reply to this answer and I will get it.

LJ

Comments

Hello Lee Russell, clicking "Add" from GEDCOM is not that easy because I have over 4000 individuals to add. Furthermore, searching from 4,000 individuals in GEDCOMpare is pain in the ass when done manually (clicking on paging). Isn't there at least a way to quickly search intended person from uploaded GEDCOM in order to click "Add"?

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Good Heavens Arnold, I once loaded a 1,400 name GEDCOM file and went absolutely bonkers.  It was then I decided to stop and break my Tree down into smaller trees to make life easier and extend what little sanity I had left. But in answer to your question, there is no search capability for the GEDCOMpare Report List.

Now I am unsure what you want in searching out different names on your GEDCOMpare List.  Is this to facilitate importing names in a specific order?  If this is the reason, I sort by name.  I build my trees on Ancestry so I have one tab open to the Ancestry tree while I work on the GEDCOMpare List.  I take the time to create totally new trees of specific branches of my family.  Time consuming yes, Good God Yes, but it does allow me to update some names I hadn't worked on for years and add new data that has become available since then.

One thing to be aware of when adding names by selection and not in order.  GEDCOM files have an internal link standard that links family members together.  To an extent. If I add Joe Smith and then add his father, GEDOMpare recognizes the link of father to son and makes the appropriate link automatically.  But if I were to add Joe's sister before adding Joe's father, no link will be made.  You will see Add an Unrelated Person for sis.  When Joe's dad is added, the link between father and son is created, but sis will have to be linked manually. Yep, even more fun to add to your woes.

You might want to take a look at this page I put together for the new GEDCOMpare user as well as new to WikiTree member.  It has some tips and hint and links to specific WikiTree Help Pages to assist in transitioning your GEDCOM file into WIkiTree.

GEDCOM File Usage Primer

While it doesn't answer your question specifically, it may give you some insight and possibly answer some other question you may have.  And there is a link on how to split your GEDCOM file too.

P.S.  I'm not a Mentor anymore.  That made me bereft of what little sanity I did have.  LOL

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Yes that is exactly the reason I have to search for person in order to have them linked as it is in the GEDCOM file. I can't just add any person in the list, because they might be added as Unrelated Person

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About the only thing close to helping is to Sort By Name.  At least then the names are in Alphabetical Order and makes it a little easier.  And click on the Hide Completed Rows to get those off of the displayed list and the amount of pages you have to go through is lessened as well.  And it does give a feeling of some sort of accomplistment as the list grows smaler.

One major warning, do NOT use the Refresh Button at the bottom of the Report List Page. The makes GEDCOMpare search the entire WikiTree active database again for Suggested Matches, even those you have already Accepted a Suggested Match. It like you loaded you GEDCOM file all over again.  Sometimes the Display gets a little quirky and may not keep up.  If the display looks odd, close that tab and reopen your GEDCOMs page again and open that file again.  Sometimes the Add Buttons seem to disappear for no reason.  Or the running count gives a negative number. This takes care of those problems.

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I already did that, but unfortunately Sort By Name sorts them by surname, and I have many people with same surnames as it is my family tree ...

Thanks anyway for the reply. Now I know for the time being I am stuck in this condition. Wikitree is the best I have found so far, it is free, collaborative and yet give some access control (unlike FamilySearch), however this is the only one so far that forces user to enter one by one fromm GEDCOM :(

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There is method to the madness of GEDCOMpare and importing names on a one by one basis.

it is free, collaborative and yet give some access control (unlike FamilySearch)

Those are the reasons Arnold.

FREE: Any Tom, Dick or Harry can join.  Not everyone is as diligent in their research as others. In your journey through Suggested Matches, how many Profiles did you see and thought: "What in the he...."

COLLABORATIVE: When you add your tree to WIkiTree, it is not YOUR tree, it is everybody's. The object of WikiTree is One Global Tree to connect the World, so One Name- One Profile. Duplicate Profiles are the bane of our collaborative effort.And everyone should be free to add viable data to a Profile the original creator may not have had.

ACCESS CONTROL: Unless the Profile you're adding is immediate family, the General De Facto Rule is that the Profiles Privacy Level should be Open to foster the collaborative effort.  Anyone born more than 150 years ago or died more than 100 years ago MUST be set to Open.  There are some other Access Controls for Pre-1700 Profiles and certain Project Protected Profiles, usually famous or notable people.You don't own your Profiles on WikiTree, you manage them.

All the reason you, as well as I, joined WikiTree are the causes for the GEDCOMpare Utility. In reality, the biggest reason for the one at time is to keep duplicates out. In many cases, a computer cannot make the decisions we can on whether a name being added is the same as an existing Profile. Computer programs cannot make assumptions the way we can. They are ruled by strict protocols in logic, we can make illogical, but ultimately correct decisions.  Secondary is to give you pause as to whether the data you have is sufficient to create a good Profile.  Is the name of your great great grandmothers middle daughter's possible husband true or just a hint for you to research later.  If they're a hint, don't add them.

And WikiTree is really different than other sites in that it has no data or records for you to search except that which is entered by its members. Other sites are where you do your research and the archive you create is secondary.  Here is where your archive your findings and research is secondary.  So bad data in is bad data out.

So yes, it is not the easiest site to load a GEDCOM file and your view of GEDCOMpare is not uncommon to new members, On the contrary, it is a general rule of thumb, but there are reasons. Even more than I mentioned that you'll see as you further navigate the WikiTree world. To paraphrase Abe Lincoln, WikiTree can't be all of the things all of the people want all of the time.  Heck, they nailed the last guy who tried to foster that ideal to a cross.

And with that, stick a fork in me as I am done and heading to bed.  LOL

Answer 4

I might be incorrect in this, but having just uploaded gedcom it appears that if I made a match with an existing person in wikitree that did not have all the ancestor links that my gedcom had in it, that those links to the ancestors were lost as far as when my family tree was populated. I get not wanting to duplicate entries for the same people but if it causes me to lose those relationships that were originally part of my gedcom upload, maybe that is something that wikitree can find a work around for? It takes a long time to build some of those relationships only to lose them when trying to be responsible and not replicating existing entries. Like I said, I may be missing something but that is the only explanation I can come up with given that all those entries do exist in my list after the upload, but not in my family tree

Comments

I do not think you will lose the relationships because each name on your GedCom will be in the GedCompare and will either be added as a new profile or found to be a duplicate of a profile already here.

Note that I did not upload a GedCom file, but I have followed threads in G2G discussing the process.

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I actually did find the answer finally and I get it. WikiTree no longer allows auto population of individuals from gedcom files as it created a lot of garbage relationships with no data and it causes duplications when people aren't tedious with the match and compare. so yes, you do have to make the attachments manually even though they were originally attached in the gedcom file