How do I create a male line GEDCOM?

RootsMagic
1

I want to create a GEDCOM file of my male line together with their spouses.
So, my father and his wife
my grandfather and his wife
my great grandfather and his wife
…and so on.
How can I do this in RM7? (or RM8 if it’s simpler)
I did open a blank database and copy myself (drag) from my main database (in RM7)
I see the option to ‘copy from a list’ but that seems very lengthy.
The other options are too broad for what I want.
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2

I think this would do what you wish.

Create a blank database and drag and drop to it yourself and all your ancestors. There is a single choice for all your ancestors and you don’t have to select each one separately. Go to the new database and from there create a GEDCOM. When you are making the GEDCOM, start with your male line patriarch, and select all of his descendants and spouses.

The key to making this work is to make it a two step process. I think you might be able to do it within a single database without making a second database. But doing so would require color coding that might destroy any existing color coding. So you could clear all colors and mark all your direct ancestors red (or any color). Then go to your male line patriarch to do your GEDCOM. Select him and all his descendants and spouses, then unselect anyone who is not red before finishing the GEDCOM. So that’s doing the two step process with color coding instead of making a second database.

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3

I did the drag method with option “Just Ancestors of me” which gave me what you want. Then created the Gedcom from that.

4

Thank you for your interest and suggestions.
Creating the Gedcom from the reduced number of people (i.e. just all ancestors) still requires the manual selection of the male line and their spouses. There are 22 selections to be made (11 generations). However the task is not quite as onerous as I first feared.
I guess I hoped (unreasonably) for a single click solution.
Stay well
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5

Thank you Mad Dog but that includes the female line also.
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6

There should not be any manual selections in the process I outlined.

There are two selections that must be done separately from each other. The select up from yourself to all of all your ancestors is automatic. The select down from your furthest back male line ancestor is automatic. The trick is to get the two selections to work together. That’s where making the second data base or the use of color coding comes into play - to get the two selections to work together.

Essentially what you want is anybody who is your direct ancestor who also is the direct descendant of your male line ancestor. The people who meet both conditions are the line you want.

7

Apologies for delayed reaction. My RM PC is down.
I don’t want to beat this to death, but I do want to fully understand what you suggest.
I will respond when I get the PC sorted.
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8

Back online.
Sorry, but I am missing something here. I don’t want to let it go.
I make the new database with me and my ancestors only. A single selection.
I then go FILE/EXPORT to create a Gedcom file from that new smaller database.
The only selection options I am offered are EVERYONE or SELECT FROM A LIST
Same options in RM7 and RM8.
Help, please!
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9

You are not done yet. Go ahead and SELECT FROM A List. You will be in a screen called RootsMagic Explorer. There will be two buttons at the top - Mark and Unmark. Those buttons are the key.

Before you use the Mark or Unmark buttons, navigate to your ancestral person. The easiest way to do this is usually to use the search box. Put in the name as something like Smith, John William. Your person will be highlighted. I usually click on the person’s check box at this point, but I don’t think it’s necessary. The key is that the person is highlighted, so it is now time to click the Mark button.

There are lots of options and the one you want is Direct Descendants only since you are after the male line. So select that option, specify a large number for the number of generations, and click OK and then click Select and then click Ok.

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10

AAHHHH!!!
Indeed, the secret is the MARK button. I was unaware of its potency.
Job done.
Thank you for sticking with this issue - very much appreciated.
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