Help:Review GEDCOM

Use the Review GEDCOM application to prepare your GEDCOM for import. WeRelate.org is different from most family tree websites. It encourages collaboration by creating links between trees. By contributing to WeRelate you are helping to create a free, unified family tree with one page for each person that combines the best information from all contributors.

Overview Tab

Tip: Slowly drag the dividing bar separating the top and bottom panes to resize them.

Help: Anytime you want to see this help page, click on a different tab (at the left). The Help specific to that tab will be displayed. From there, you can scroll through the entire GEDCOM Review Help page.

More Help: If you have questions about the review process or would like an administrator to help review your GEDCOM, click here to leave a message.

Next Steps

• Click on the tabs in the order shown: Click on each tab and check the data there to prepare your GEDCOM for import. Just because there are no errors reported it does not mean you can skip checking the other tabs. When you click on a tab, the section of this help page for that tab is displayed in the bottom pane.
• Return to WeRelate: You don't have to complete all of the steps at once. You can return to this screen anytime in the next 3 months to finish reviewing your GEDCOM. (GEDCOM's still waiting for review after 3 months will be removed.) Your work is saved as you go so you can start where you left off.
• Remove your GEDCOM: In case you change your mind about uploading your GEDCOM, you can remove it. If you have too many matches for example, you can start with a smaller GEDCOM.

Quality

If a GEDCOM has too many mistakes it can't be imported. The warning level measures the percent of people in the file with warnings or errors (errors count as two warnings). If the warning level is 2% or above, your GEDCOM will most likely be rejected. If the warning level is 4% or above, it will definitely be rejected. To see the warnings and errors for your GEDCOM, click on the Warnings tab.

Duplicates counts the number of families that are duplicated in your GEDCOM. If a GEDCOM has duplicate families it cannot be uploaded. You'll need to use your desktop genealogy program to merge the families, then re-upload.

Sources counts the number of sources in the GEDCOM. We love GEDCOM's with sources. If your GEDCOM has no sources then it should have notes which may be sources in disguise.

Root

The Root is the person who appears at the base of your tree. It is set in your desktop genealogy program.

Statistics

Counts the number of items in your GEDCOM in various states. Warnings must be reviewed and matching families decided upon to prepare your GEDCOM for import.

Warnings Tab

The purpose of the warnings tab is to show you potential problems in your tree so you can correct them before importing your GEDCOM to WeRelate. Warnings appear when dates are suspect, when the GEDCOM appears to contain duplicate entries, or when it appears that genealogical conventions have not been followed. If a GEDCOM's warning level is too high, it cannot be imported.

If you see a lot of warnings, we recommend that you correct the data in your desktop genealogy program, remove the GEDCOM, and upload a revised GEDCOM. To assist in finding and correcting issues, you can print the warnings using the Print Warnings button.

Alternately, you can correct issues within the GEDCOM already uploaded, by selecting each warning in turn and editing the page that shows up in the bottom of the screen (the edit link is just below the page title, to the right of the WeRelate logo). If the error is on a related page (e.g., a Family page has a warning, but it is a child's birth date that needs to be corrected), select the appropriate tab (People or Families) on the left and search to find the page that needs correcting.

As you review the warnings:

1. If the information is incorrect and you know how to fix it, correct the information.
2. If the information is incorrect but you don't know right now how to fix it, remove the incorrect information and make a note about it.
3. Some warnings are due to unusual but factual situations, such as a child being born before a marriage date. If the information is correct, you can ignore the warning.

If you have a lot of warnings for people in a line that you did not research personally, you may want to exclude the people in this line. Excluded people don't appear in the Warnings list. To exclude someone, go to the People tab and check the Exclude check box.

Help:GEDCOM Warnings lists the possible conditions that can result in a warning being generated.

People Tab

Click on a person in the list to see what the wiki page will look like for that person. You can navigate around your tree by clicking on different people in the top half of the screen.

(You might notice that the source links in the wiki pages include a "(S# gedcom)" suffix. This is just until the GEDCOM file is uploaded, at which point the suffix will no longer appear.)

The Exclude check box is checked for people who will not be imported. If you don't want to import someone, just click the Exclude check box.

The Distance column shows how far away each person in the tree is from the root. People who are not connected to the root person show as Not connected to root.

The Living column is checked for people who the system thinks are living. The system will try to identify living people based on a set of rules, but cannot do so if you have not provided dates. People marked living are automatically excluded from import.

The Early column is checked for people born 1750 or earlier. Early people are excluded from GEDCOM import. Instead, you'll need to create wiki pages for them by hand. (WeRelate already has wiki pages for many early ancestors; we're providing GEDCOM import to help people create pages for their closer ancestors.)

You might notice that some people born before 1750 are not excluded. The reason is that we don't break up GEDCOM families. If anyone in a family is born 1750 or later, then everyone in the family is imported.

The Matched Page column shows which WeRelate page (if any) this page has been matched with (see the Matching Families tab below).

Instructions

1. Exclude unknown persons at the end of line who have no information.
2. Make sure the majority of the individuals have at least one date and place to identify them or the file will be returned to you for review. Such individuals cannot be matched with people already in our system and cannot be identified.
3. Please 'don't put surnames in ALL CAPS. They should be in mixed case.

Families Tab

In addition to wiki pages for people, WeRelate also creates wiki pages for families to link parents to children. Family pages can also hold family events, biographies, sources, pictures, etc. Click on a family in the list to see what the wiki page will look like for that family.

Where a person has multiple spouses, a separate page should be created for each marriage or relationship.

Instructions

1. Always exclude families with living spouses.

1. The majority of the families in the file must have names for both husband and wife. Sometimes a file is uploaded with most families having only one spouse and a marriage date. Generally speaking, if you have the marriage dates for most of the families, you likely have the spouse's name. It is likely there is a problem with the your gedcom generator. In these cases, the file will be returned for your Review and you will receive the Template:Spouse's names message. If you don't have the name, the file can still be imported as long as most of the families contain marriage dates and at least one child.

1. Exclude spouseless families that have only child. Everyone knows there were parents and there is no information so we don't need to create an empty family page.

Note: The family page is excluded automatically if you exclude a family member and leave fewer than two non-excluded family members left. Family pages containing only one person are created by some programs and these should also be excluded as they are unnecessary.

Places Tab

Find or add matching places in the place index. This step is optional, but recommended.

Instructions

1. Click on a place in the list above that has not been matched. That will replace this page with a search form. Note that the search form is titled Add a Place, but it won't add a place to WeRelate unless you specifically request it after searching.
2. Make sure that the name of the place appears correctly in the search form and click Next.
3. Then, click Select to select one the places shown, or Add Page to create a new place page in WeRelate (please familiarize yourself with WeRelate policy regarding place pages before doing so).

WeRelate.org is developing a comprehensive database of current and historical places. The database includes descriptions and research tips for many places, and everyone is welcome to contribute. Places referenced in your GEDCOM are automatically linked to the places in this database. Please note: locations such as addresses, hospitals, and churches are not permitted. Please match these directly to the town in which they reside. We do, however, allow pages for cemeteries.

The Matched Page column shows the place in WeRelate that your GEDCOM place will be matched with (linked to). Place texts in your GEDCOM are preserved exactly as you entered them; Matched Page just shows the wiki Place pages to which the places in your GEDCOM will be linked.

If Matched Page is empty, is means the system was unable to find a match for the place in your GEDCOM. This will result in that place being displayed as a red link in the wiki pages because it links to a place that doesn't exist in the database. If you want, you can change this by finding the matching place yourself or adding a new place to the database, following the instructions above.

If a place in your GEDCOM has been matched to an incorrect WeRelate place, unlink it by clicking the icon in the Unmatch column.

Sources Tab

Find or add a matching source in the WeRelate source database. This step is optional, but recommended.

Instructions

1. Click on a source in the list above that has not been matched. That will replace this page with information about your source. If this source applies to only a few individuals or is not publicly accessible (e.g., an individual birth certificate or a family bible), skip the remaining steps.
2. Click Find a matching Source. This brings up a search form with your source information already filled in, and executes the search.
3. If you don't see a good match in the search results, consider adding information to the search form and searching again.
4. Click Select to select one the sources shown, or Add Page to create a new source page to WeRelate (please familiarize yourself with WeRelate policy regarding source pages before doing so).

WeRelate has and continues to develop a large database of Sources (community sources). Community Source pages are like cards in a library card catalog. They provide bibliographic and usage tips for sources that apply to many individuals and are publicly accessible. Examples of Source pages are the US 1880 Census and Hancock County Illinois Marriages.

The importer tries to match any sources in your file to Community Sources. It will sometimes miss some and other times make an incorrect match, mainly due to differences in the naming conventions. Checking they are correct now will save you work later.

Unmatched sources in your GEDCOM file become MySources (personal sources) when your GEDCOM is imported. MySource pages are appropriate for sources that apply to only a handful of individuals, like an individual birth certificate or a family bible, or sources that are not publicly accessible.

For sources in your GEDCOM that qualify as Community Sources, you should match them to existing Source pages or create new Source pages for them, following the instructions above.

If you (or the importer) incorrectly matches a source to a Community Source (Source page), unlink it by clicking the icon in the Unmatch column.

Family Matches Tab

Link the people in your GEDCOM to existing people at WeRelate.

This step is important! Take time to read the instructions below, and remember that you can always ask for help if you need it.

Instructions

1. Click on an unmatched family in the list above. That will replace this page with a comparison screen.
2. Check the box above the matching family. If multiple families match, just check one. You can merge the others after you upload your GEDCOM. (You can ignore the greyed-out checkboxes under unchecked families.)
3. Review the information to ensure that the importer has correctly matched your data to an existing family and that all the children are correctly matched. If it is the right family but one or more children are incorrectly matched, change the selection(s) so that the children are correctly matched.
4. Assuming that the match is correct, click Match to match the family. (If the importer has suggested only incorrect matches, click Not a match instead.)
5. Once you have matched your family to an existing family, you can update the existing family with information from your GEDCOM (unless your GEDCOM file has too many warnings). Updating the existing family is optional. It isn't necessary or desirable to update unless you have more accurate information or more reliable sources to add. To update, check the boxes to the left of the information you want to add, and click Update. See more detailed instructions and advice below.

The goal of WeRelate.org is to have a single page for each unique individual, with several people contributing to the same page. This makes collaboration much easier. The process of matching families when uploading a GEDCOM is an important tool to meet this goal, since it prevents the creation of duplicate pages for the same person when used correctly.

If you select Not a match, new WeRelate pages will be created when your GEDCOM is imported.

If you select Match by mistake, you can "unmatch" your family by clicking on the icon in the Unmatch column. If you have already added new information to the matched page(s) by selecting items and clicking Update, you will have to back out your additions (see more detailed instructions below).

Note: You must review all matching families and either match them or mark them as "Not a match" before you can declare your GEDCOM as Ready to Import (on the Import tab).

Adding information from your GEDCOM to matched families

Once you have matched a family, you can update that family with the information from your GEDCOM. If you do not update a matched family, the family is used as is; information from your GEDCOM is not added.

Please note: Updating the matched pages is optional. It is not necessary or desirable to update pages unless you have more accurate information or more reliable sources to add.

Also note: If your GEDCOM warning level (on the Overview tab) is 2% or more, you will not be able to update matched pages. Instead, you are advised to correct the warnings in your desktop genealogy program and upload a revised GEDCOM.

To update a matched family (one you have already confirmed is a match) with information from your GEDCOM:

• Click on the family to update. The information from your GEDCOM is shown side-by-side with the information from the matched family.
• Check the boxes next to the information from your GEDCOM that you want to add. Unchecked boxes mean the information will not be added.
• You don't need to check boxes next to information that is already in the matching family or if the matching family has more complete information.
• If you have the same date and place as an existing event but your event has a (non-gedcom) source that you want to attach to the existing event, leave your event unchecked and check the box next to your source. Your source will be attached to the existing event.
• If your data differs from existing data, please check your sources to verify that your information is correct before checking the boxes to add your information to the existing pages.
• You don't need to worry about source & note ordering; sources & notes will be re-ordered automatically.
• Do not add user ID numbers, reference numbers, and other single-user identifiers of the information.
• Do not add MySources that reference gedcom, .ftw, etc. files. These secondary sources often aren't very helpful because they're difficult for others to find and review.
• Once you've checked the boxes next to the information you want to add, click Update.

See Help:Merging pages for more information.

Note: The existing wiki pages will be updated immediately, even before your GEDCOM is uploaded. This means that if you decide later that this family does not match your GEDCOM family after all, in addition to unlinking your GEDCOM family (see above) you'll also need to undo any edits that were made during the update. To do this, select Contributions from the MyRelate menu, look for the family and people involved in the update (only the pages actually changed will appear in the contributions list), click on each page involved and select History from the links in the upper-right corner. Review the history to make sure there are no changes after your changes. Then click on the dated link just before (below) your update, select Edit, and click on the Save button to save this old version of the page. This undoes your changes. Note: If there were changes after yours, don't save the previous version, as doing that will lose all subsequent changes - instead, your changes will have to be manually removed by editing the page.

Note: If your GEDCOM family matches a wiki family with an unknown spouse (e.g., the wiki page title is Family:John Doe and Unknown) and your GEDCOM family fills in the spouse, you can Rename the matched wiki page to include the name of the new spouse you added after you match and optionally update the family. The new spouse will be added once your GEDCOM is uploaded.

Too many matches?

Does this look overwhelming? Here are some ideas:

• If you have a lot of matching families along a line that you did not research personally, you may want to exclude them from import. Excluded families are removed from the Family Matches list. To exclude a family, right-click and select Exclude.
• Instead of uploading this GEDCOM, remove this GEDCOM and upload a smaller GEDCOM until you get the hang of it.
• If most of the people in your GEDCOM already appear on WeRelate, consider not uploading your GEDCOM but instead help us by editing the existing pages for your ancestors and adding what you know.

Import Tab

Once you have reviewed the other tabs, click on the Ready to import button in this tab to import your GEDCOM. Your GEDCOM will then receive a final quality check by an administrator and be imported. This usually happens within 24-48 hours. Please allow a little extra time around the holidays. We appreciate your patience.

GEDCOM's with a warning level that is too high (above 2%) will likely be rejected by the administrator unless there are extenuating circumstances. In general, instead of trying to import GEDCOM's with lots of warnings, you should correct the data in your desktop genealogy program and upload a revised GEDCOM.

Getting Help: If you have questions about the review process or would like an administrator to help review your GEDCOM,click here to leave a message. Administrators are unable to change the Living check boxes, but they can help with anything else.