GEDCOM Export Options

Large GEDCOM Export Screen

What is Available for Export?

The items that are available to be included in the exported GEDCOM file include all information kept in the Family File. Because Legacy keeps a lot of information that other genealogy programs don't, these items should probably not be included in a file that is to be read by a different program. Legacy has several sets of "standard items" that it uses to decide what to include in the export file, depending on the destination.

Standard Export Items

If you are creating a GEDCOM file to be read back into Legacy, all the information is included in the file. If you are exporting a file that will be used in Personal Ancestral File (PAF) or will be sent to the LDS Ancestral File or LDS TempleReady, a smaller subset of information is included. You can also create a Generic GEDCOM file that only contains minimal information or a Basic GEDCOM file that contains only the name, birth, death, marriage and gender of the individuals.

The right-hand list contains the items to be included in the export file. When you first come in to the Customize section, the default standard items associated with the selected export file type are included in this window.

Excluding an Item

You can remove any item from the Export These Items box by either highlighting the item and clicking Remove or by dragging the item from the right box to the left box.

Including an Item

The box on the left contains all the pieces of information that can be exported. To include something that is not in the box on the right, either highlight the item and click Include, or drag the item from the left box to the right box.

Only GEDCOM 5.5 Items

Legacy stores some information that is not defined by any of the standard tags in the GEDCOM 5.5 specification. We have therefore added some additional tags that begin with an underline character. This is allowed by the GEDCOM 5.5 spec. These tags include:

_GROUP To track label groupings
_ORDER To track child, spouse and parent orders
_PATH To specify a path to a multimedia file
_PHOTO To specify a picture name
_PREF To track preferred children and spouses
_SOUND To specify a sound filename
_STAT To track child statuses
_TAGx To track marked records
_TYPE Tracks source types
_VIDEO To specity a video filename

If you do not want to include any of these "extra" tags in the GEDCOM file, click Only 5.5.

Resetting the Default Items

If you have added or removed items in the Items to Include box, you can reset the list to the normal items by clicking Default.

Basic Items

The minimum information that can be included in the export file is name, sex, birth, death and marriage.

Excluding Groups of Items

There are several groups of items you can have excluded from the export. These include Sources, Notes, Events, Compiler Info, Alternate Names, LDS Info, Addresses, Pictures and Marriage and Child Status.

To exclude a group from the exported GEDCOM file, check the appropriate box in the Groups of Items to EXCLUDE from Export box at the bottom right. This is faster than trying to remove the associated tags of a group one by one.

Saving Your Setup

You can save customized export setups. After you have made the changes desired, click Save List... on the right side. Legacy prompts for a filename and then saves the format file to disk.

Loading a Saved Setup

To load a previously saved export format list, click Load List... and choose the desired list name.

To reach the Items to Include in GEDCOM screen, click Customize on the GEDCOM Export screen. (The GEDCOM Export screen is reached by choosing Export To / GEDCOM File from the File menu. Or press Ctrl-E)