What Is a GEDCOM?
GEDCOM is a standard, or generic database format that allows those searching for their family tree to share family history database files even if their genealogy software or operating systems are different. It was developed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Family History Department to aid in genealogical research.
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Considerations
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The GEDCOM standard was created before the popularity of multimedia. Textual data such as names and locations transfer well, but scanned images, sound clips and movies are not compatible.
Features
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GEDCOM files contain names, birthdates, birth locations, family ties and other genealogy data used to trace family lineage.
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Function
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GEDCOM files contain information on families and individuals. The information in each record is arranged in lines with corresponding numbers and tags explaining what type of information the line contains, and pointing to additional records in the file.
GEDCOM was developed to allow an exchange data between dissimilar programs without having to manually re-enter all the genealogy data by hand.
Significance
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GEDCOM files allow those searching for family records to share records via the Internet from anywhere in the world. Most of the genealogy information in GEDCOM files can be downloaded or viewed by any genealogy software program or GEDCOM viewer.
Warning
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GEDCOM files are not meant to be merged directly into a genealogy database without first being checked to make sure the files contain information on the correct people.
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