How to Run PAF on a Flash Drive

Want to bring your genealogy work with you without lugging an entire file cabinet? Bring along a flash drive loaded with PAF and your family file, and you can run it on on any computer (unless the computer has been set up to prevent programs from running on a flash drive). Here’s how to install the software, copy files and run the program on a PC, step by step.

Installing PAF

1. Plug your flash drive into a PC. Download PAF from FamilySearch.
2. Select Run. Or choose Save, save the file to the Windows Desktop, and double-click on the PAF installation program, PAF5EnglishSetup.exe.
3. Accept the license agreement. When prompted to Choose Folder, select the flash drive and click OK. After the drive letter, type PAF5 to create a folder for the PAF program and click Next three times, then Finish.
4. Create a shortcut to PAF on the flash drive. In Windows XP, click on Start and then on My Computer and navigate to the PAF5 folder. Right-click on pstart.exe and select Create Shortcut. Then right-click on the new shortcut, select Send To and choose the flash drive. Now you can use the shortcut on the flash drive to start PAF.

Copying Files to the Drive

1. In Windows XP, click on Start and My Computer. Navigate to the folder where you saved your file.
2. Right-click on the file, select Send To and click on the flash drive letter.

Running PAF

1. Plug your flash drive into a USB port on the computer and wait for Windows to recognize it. From the pop-up window, select “Open folder to view files using Windows Explorer” and click OK. (No pop-up? Go to My Computer.)
2. Double-click the shortcut to PAF5 on your flash drive.
3. Select Open an Existing PAF File and navigate to the family file on the flash drive, select the file and click Open.