I’m new to RootsMagic, and I’m using the latest version of RootsMagic 11. I set up TreeShare to sync with my Ancestry.com account, but it did not pull down any of the media. Technical support tells me that there is some sort of issue between RootsMagic and Ancestry.com causing media not to download, and they’re not sure when it will be resolved. Just wanted to give everyone the heads up.
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in my opinion – I would suggest downloading manually and naming something user friendly then attach manually after organizing in a folder structure-- yes slight more work upfront/initially but longer term benefits.
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Thanks for your reply.
I have over 2,500 people in my tree. I bought RM specifically for this feature, among others.
it has worked for most users for the past several years (most users did not have any issues at all prior to 2.0 API – and I am sure the RM team will resolve
Like several users before me, I bought RM just yesterday expecting to be able to download all images. It’s not working. I hope this issue can be resolved very soon.
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sorry I am not with RM – just a user. I have not heard or saw that most/all users had that issue - -only a handful.
I 
agree with Kevin and I do this very thing.
I just tested and Ancestry media is not downloading automatically for me. Which is just fine as far as I’m concerned 
, in view of the above and that I’ve requested before an option to turn off media downloading.
I am glad that works for your circumstances. It does not for mine.
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downloading manually would not work? why?
(I resisted doing that for a long time and learned that it was the best thing to do after numerous sync failures with FTM)
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From RM support:
Diana, Jun 10, 2026, 12:47 MDT:
Good Afternoon
The new API (Program Interface) how RM11 communicates with Ancestry is not uploading or downloading Media. We are working with the software program that is blocking this from going to Ancestry or allowing Ancestry to download media.
Because of the recent hackings software companies find it necessary to tighten their security. We are working with them to make these adjustments.
Our Development department wants to make RM11 compatible with all the new changes these comparies are going to. Making it more efficient with this new API. Make sure you have the lates updates when they are issued.
Diana
RootsMagic Support
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Thank you for bringing that support reply to my attention. I will look into your ticket with them to understand better why they gave this type of reply. We are not dealing with any hacking issues. Ancestry upgraded to a new API and there are things to smooth out. Media is being addressed with them and hopefully we will have an update soon that resolves this.
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The reason manual download is not an option for me is because I have over 2000 people in my tree, most of whom have many, many pieces of media, so we would be talking in the very high four-digits.
I’m sure RootsMagic and ancestry.com will get this resolved quickly.
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Not something that would take over night or even a week to do manually.
I did with about 25K people (now over 32k).
about 20K media and counting - many media is connected to 2 to 10 people. Records mostly plus people photos
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What is the benefit you see to doing this manually versus Doing this through sync?
the only benefit to letting RM / ANC TS do it - is that does not require you do think or do anything. I learned from FTM that was a very poor decision on my part. The benefit to doing manually is filenames have actually meaning if you use a naming convention, you can organize as you like via sub-folders. Aso letting TreeShare pull it down carelessly can sometimes result in six duplicate copies of the exact same image (but with names that might make near impossible to tell,
Option 1: Letting TreeShare Sync Media Automatically
In this workflow, when you link your RootsMagic file to Ancestry, you use the TreeShare interface to pull down media attached to Ancestry hints, or push local media up to Ancestry.
Pros:
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Speed and Efficiency: It takes a single click to accept a hint and download the accompanying image directly into your database. It saves hours of manual saving, cropping, and attaching.
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Instant Sourcing: TreeShare automatically links the downloaded image to the specific source/citation and individual it belongs to, keeping your workspace connected without manual clicking.
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Seamless Cloud Backup: Anything you add on the Ancestry app or website while on the go will easily slide into your local RootsMagic database during your next sync session.
Cons:
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Messy File Naming: Ancestry assigns cryptic, alphanumeric file names to images (e.g.,
4a3b2c1d_00123_rect.jpg). If you ever look at your media folder outside of RootsMagic, it will be an unrecognizable sea of gibberish. -
Duplicate Media Bloat: If a census image applies to a family of six, letting TreeShare pull it down carelessly can sometimes result in six duplicate copies of the exact same image clogging up your hard drive, depending on how the hints were accepted.
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Lack of Directory Structure: TreeShare typically dumps every single piece of media into one massive, flat folder rather than organizing them by surname or record type.
Option 2: Downloading and Linking Media Manually
In this workflow, you view the record on Ancestry, download the image directly to your computer, rename it according to your personal filing system, place it in a specific folder, and link it to the RootsMagic citation manually.
Pros:
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Total Control and Cleanliness: You dictate the file naming convention (e.g.,
LABORE_Kevin_1967_BirthCertificate.jpg). Your media folder remains pristine, human-readable, and highly searchable outside of genealogy software. -
Zero Duplication: You download the census image once. You then link that single, local file to every relevant person or citation in RootsMagic. This keeps your database file size lean.
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Platform Independence: If you ever decide to move your data to a different platform (like Family Historian or TNG), a perfectly organized and named media folder will migrate beautifully without breaking links.
Cons:
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Massive Time Investment: Downloading, renaming, sorting into folders, and manually navigating to link the file inside RootsMagic adds significant friction to your research speed.
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TreeShare Duplication Risk: Even if you have the file locally, if you aren’t careful when running TreeShare, the system might not recognize your manual file as the “same” one on Ancestry, tempting it to download its own version anyway and creating a double entry.
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Higher Learning Curve: It requires strict adherence to a personal file-naming and folder-hierarchy system. If you slip up, fixing broken media links down the road can be a headache
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Wow. Thank you for such a detailed reply.
You are welcome
I learned my lesson from catastrophic SYNC failures with FTM which was one of the main reason I moved to RM back 5 years ago. So when came to RM(7 and Preview8 ) about 5 years – I wanted things done differently as I should have been doing anyways. Of course that is just what I do – if you do not have any issues that is up to user. At least you have a better understanding even though I only covered the highlights which AI helped make response cleaner
@TontGinSF Kevin gave a great compare & contrast. (I’m biased though because I think Kevin’s a pretty good dude.)
If you’re interested, I posted a fairly detailed explainer on how I organize and also use file meta-data for my media.
Something Kevin didn’t touch on is that eventually you will have media that is outside of / independant of Ancestry. Storing that media in an orderly, logical way is super-helpful.
I presently have 16.8 gigabytes of media consisting of 2,546 individual items. A notable portion of those are not on Ancestry, but are attached to my RootsMagic instance.
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yes agreed - I have ~20gb (18k items 25K links) so very similar.
the other option you could do is a hybrid approach but I think the risk and confusion factors NOT something I would suggest…
letting TreeShare automatically pull down transitory documents or profile photos for speed – then do most everything else as previously described
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So, and my apologies if these questions have been answered (I can be rather thick sometimes), aside from what I’m hearing is the rather unorganized way that the application stores local media files, it’s also error-prone in terms of duplicates, missing information, that sort of thing. Is that correct? Has anyone ever used the sync with Ancestry and had it work beautifully?
I wonder if this will improve with the new Ancestry API.
Thanks everyone for your input!