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Q. I use Ancestry.com for searches and my family tree. But how can I get that data into my Reunion software, since the two don’t sync?
A. Reunion is a good program for Mac (it’s what I use), but a weakness is that it doesn’t play well with Ancestry.com trees. You might find it easiest to keep your “real” tree in Reunion and add your Ancestry.com finds to it manually.
Otherwise, it’s possible to move an Ancestry tree into Reunion, though it’s cumbersome and you might not want to do it often. First, download your Ancestry tree as a GEDCOM: Go to Trees>Tree Name>Tree Settings; click the Export Tree button on the right and right-click (or Mac CTRL-click) to select Download Your GEDCOM File. Select Save Link As or Save Target As and pick a destination for the file.
Next, drag and drop the icon for your new file onto the Reunion application icon. (Or from within Reunion, create a new family file under File, then choose the option to Import GEDCOM File.) The GEDCOM Import window will open; you’ll need to make some choices based on the fields you’ve been using.
Keep in mind that Reunion and Ancestry.com use different terminology and structures for source documentation. According to the makers of Reunion, “As a result of these differences (and limitations of the GEDCOM file format) the transfer of source records and citations can be problematic.” This is also the case when exporting a Reunion tree for posting on Ancestry.com.
Note that a GEDCOM import won’t transfer images or other multimedia elements. You can, however, drag and drop an image from an Ancestry.com web page onto an individual’s “button” in Reunion, which will download and link the picture.
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