How Do You Relate?

GEDCOM is the data format used to exchange genealogical information with other computers. It is a standard format used by most if not all genealogy software programs. GEDCOM is an acronym of Genealogical Data Communication. It was developed by the Family History Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to pass data between the various computer systems of the LDS Church, including its Personal Ancestral File program. It has been adopted by virtually all other vendors of genealogical programs. Thanks to GEDCOM, you can enter data into Family Tree Maker, export it to Brothers Keeper, download data from various websites and integrate it into your own family file. A GEDCOM file is a plain text file that can be read by any word processor, but seldom is. That's because it was meant to convey data from one computer program to another and so its content is arranged in a sort of code. Experts can look into a GEDCOM file and understand it, but reading GEDCOM directly is quite a task. I will not go into the technical aspects of reading a GEDCOM file this way because I barely understand it myself. If you are interested go to www.cyndislist.com for links on this subject.