I’m new here and learning RootsMagic 11 on my M1 Mac. I research on both my desktop and iPad, and I’m trying to get organized by merging several Ancestry branch trees into one main RootsMagic tree. My goal is to upload this “One Tree” to Ancestry (using TreeShare), but keep my master tree in RootsMagic, so Ancestry doesn’t control my data.
I’ve read through the forums and documentation, but I’m still unsure about the best way to prepare for uploading to Ancestry, especially when it comes to media files. Does TreeShare automatically upload all media files when syncing to Ancestry, or do I need to manually prepare and link them before uploading? Is TreeShare currently working well for uploads to Ancestry? (It worked fine for downloads.)
Here’s what I’ve done so far to get ready for the upload:
Created new RM files for each Ancestry tree (using TreeSync), including media
Fixed duplicates and standardized place names
Color-coded files to track data sources
Backed up everything with media
Created a new, empty “One Tree” RM file
Dragged and dropped each tree into the new file
Cleaned up duplicate parents and merged any remaining duplicates
Re-established most media links (some were broken during merging)
My main questions:
What are the best practices for preparing my RootsMagic tree and media files before uploading to Ancestry?
Should I combine all media files into one folder and re-link them before uploading, or can I leave them as they are?
Does TreeShare handle media uploads automatically, or do I need to do something extra to make sure all my media transfers correctly?
Any tips or advice for this workflow would be greatly appreciated!
That’s a lot of questions and a lot of options to consider, but the simple answer is that it doesn’t matter how your organize your media files for the purposes of a TreeShare upload. Once you have your “one RM database” with all your media files linked to it, they will all be uploaded to TreeShare. It doesn’t matter to TreeShare what folders they are in or how they are organized.
That’s not to say that there might not be advantages and disadvantages within your own local use of the media files as to how you organize them. But it doesn’t impact the upload to Ancestry via TreeShare.
as other have said - it should not matter for the other platforms.
If you changes you media folder structure on your local computer – you are more at risk the tool might not fix everything (or potentially break things). It might fix everything perfectly – but if it does not – then you will need to additional time cleaning up what it does not. So it might be safest to leave things as are for the time being
Thank you for looking at my plan, I’ve read thru some of your replies to others to help me create it, so thank you x 2 and for TreeShare clarification.
Thank you, you make a good point about leaving things as they are for the time being. I think I will, especially since this is my first attempt at doing something like this. I appreciate your advice.
This is fine if the goal is to have a 1X backup but, as a general practice, most folks backup without media to maintain their folder structure and to keep backup file size reasonable. It’s good advice to backup your RM db often. A db mistake can be reversed with a restore and if you do adopt a customized media folder strategy, a restore of a backup with media will , at a minimum, complicate things.
At a minimum consider moving all media folders under 1 top level media folder. Then define that top level media folder in RM’s Folder Settings.
RM’s Fix Broken Links tools does a good job of repairing db links when files move. What it cannot do is repair links when the filename has changed. Giving media files a meaningful name can definitely be done but needs to be done with care. Perhaps better as a follow-on task if you are eager to push a combined tree up to ancestry.
Thank you, as far as backing up, I don’t always back up with Media, but was doing it thinking that Treeshare would transfer it to the new Ancestry “One Tree”. Is that incorrect?
Ok, I will move all media folders under one top level Media folder and define it in settings, that makes sense to me. I will do that before using Treeshare to upload to Ancestry, relink things and then do the Treeshare upload.
I, like others do not love the nonsensical names on some of the images from Ancestry, but I did notice somewhat of an improvement with the downloads of images from my trees for this project. As far as renaming the files, I would have to do that over time. When I do, would you recommend renaming the files from within RM as in this reply to a different topic from BobC Apr 2025? (Thank you to BobC ).
yw. You’ve got a good plan to get going and don’t fret if you change your mind about how to organize things after you dive it. It happens as new features roll out. Good Luck
when I moved to RM around Feb 2021 (Preview RM8 was announced) – I decide it was time rebuild things from scratch vs trying to rename things – that took awhile – but I am glad I did that step as I had procrastinated doing so.
I personally keep all RootsMagic media files in one location, with one exception. I copy all photographs to another file, where each photo is identified by the full name, year of birth, and year of death. If the individual is living, the date the photo was taken is listed if possible, otherwise the birth date is listed (b1955). This is done because I have had problems with Ancestry (and possibly other programs) renaming the photograph with a number that prevents me from determining who the individual is and finding them in the database. It also helps when the media goes missing from the database for some reason. I have been doing genealogy for almost 70 years now, and have experienced this problem more times than I can count. It is easy to find another census record; it is very difficult to obtain photographs of individuals.
I agree with you, especially regarding photos of people -sounds like a good method. My goal is to get more standardized in a naming system like that, as I’ve tried different methods over time, but am finally zeroing in on what I want now that I have a bit more time. I’m working on getting more organized with my genealogy in most aspects. I do have media/photos of ancestors incorporated into my Genealogy Research digital files on each family group which are separate from my RootsMagic media files. I also have physical files and photos that I’m working on organizing more. We rather gather so many different types of media over time in our research, it’s amazing. Good for you doing genealogy for almost 70 years, it really can be a lifelong hobby/profession.
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