Family tree - where next?

[user1471543683]

Family tree - where next?
im sure I’ve asked this before but I can’t find thread if I have. I have researched my tree for over 30 years, so when I began I had the Family Tree Maker on CD rom. I put my data into that and just got used to the layout.
I now have that program on my laptop and can input info on there.
However my Uncle is I think interested in looking at it and mentions Ancestry.
My question is where is the best place to put all my info so that relatives could look at it? I believe his son (my cousin) has also done some of the tree so would say Ancestry match us up? What kind of costs are involved?
im keen to get my info onto something so that i dont lose it all.
Any advice appreciated

Ancestry is technically free for your existing info. You pay to get hints about current or further down the line relatives/ ancestors.
for eg. I have put my immediate family and a bit further who I know and dp’s immediate family too. Actually found out dp has a half sister he knew nothing about as his df passed when he was younger

I would suggest Ancestry. They have an entirely free option that allows you to create your own tree and add information to it, but it does not allow you to search any of their information (apart from that which is free anyway)

You can sign up for free here:

https://support.ancestry.co.uk/s/article/Free-Registered-Guest-Accounts

The records that can be searched for free are here:

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/categories/freeindexacom#included-data-collections

In order to let other people see your tree on Ancestry then they would also need to open a free account and then you can invite them as a guest to view your tree.

If your tree is quite large then you can upload it to your free Ancestry account as a GEDCOM file (Family Tree Maker will likely have that capability).

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"I believe his son (my cousin) has also done some of the tree so would say Ancestry match us up?"

Is that on Ancestry or some other place? If he has a tree on Ancestry then he can invite you to view his tree.

You can then do the following with a paid account, but I don't know if you can do this with a free account. It's the nearest you'll get to merging two trees, although it's quite manual.

If you go to a record that is in both your trees you can then save all the information from his tree directly to yours. Not only for that person but also their spouse and children as well.

So, for example, if on both trees you both have Joe Smith. But on your tree you only have Joe. In contrast, your cousin's tree also has Joe's wife and children as well.

If you were to save Joe's details to your tree then you will have the option to also save the details of his wife and children as well. They will then be added in the correct place on your tree.

It's very manual, but at least you don't have to add everybody individually.

Thank you. Now I took a 14 day trial which expires on Sunday. Will it give me option to switch to the free membership or will I have to start again?

The free trial is different to being a registered guest. To be frank, I'm not too sure about your question. I believe that after your free trial is over then you will automatically become a registered guest. So you will still be able to see your tree and update it but you will not be able to search any of their records or view other people's trees..

They do say:

"A registered guest account is a free Ancestry® account. You have a registered guest account if you've never had a membership or your membership has ended"

I’d use Family Search. It’s free. You can put your family tree on there, and use their search facility.

You can export your information from FTM as a .gedcom and then people can use whichever software they choose to open and read it. Ancestry is an option but not free as you are paying for the records access too. Legacy Family Tree software is free to download/use and is a good alternative. I think Roots Magic also has a basic/free edition although it might be a trial only.

"Ancestry is an option but not free as you are paying for the records access too."

Ancestry offers a free option that does not give you access to any of their paid-for records but does allow you to build and edit your own tree. You can also invite other people to create a free account and view your tree online as well.

If another person has a paid membership on Ancestry then they can invite a person with a free membership to view their tree.

Just to add. Ancestry has good privacy controls. Family members who wish to view your tree on there will also need a free account, and you can share with them explictly but otherwise keep your tree private and unsearchable if you wish.