Luckily, nearly all family tree software programs use the same basic steps to export an existing tree as a GEDCOM file:
- Click on the "File" menu in the upper left
- Click on the "Export" or "Export File" option in the menu
From this point on, each software package differs, so follow these general guidelines:
- Choose to export the file as a GEDCOM, use version 5.5 if possible
- Select "ANSI" or "UTF-8" as the character set
- Save as GEDCOM (*.GED)
The software program should save a copy of your tree in GEDCOM file format. Remember the location on your hard drive where you save the GEDCOM file - you will need to be able to locate it in order to upload it to Ancestry.