I previously used RM7, selected 1 of my existing Ancestry trees, used Tree Share and compared the 2 until both trees matched. After that I would make changes on both RM7 and Ancestry, frequently using TreeShare to keep them both up to date. I’ve tried watching the instructional videos but there’s so much emphasis using Tree Share with FamilySearch that I’ve had trouble following the procedure of sharing just between RM8 and Ancestry. After reading through some of the TreeShare threads here, it sounds like the new process is vastly different, and that people are having many issues using it. Am I correct in thinking that this TreeShare with RM8 is basically useless and I’d be better off just manually adding info to each of my trees?
Is there a plan to prepare an instructional video on using TreeShare with just Ancestry, and how to avoid the problems I’m reading about in the threads?
I believe any differences in TreeShare between RM7 and RM8 is changes in the API made by Ancestry implemented in RM8 but not changed in RM7. I use RM8 on a Windows 11 laptop and have no issues with TreeShare.
TreeShare is only used with Ancestry Member Trees. It has no connection with FamilySearch Family Tree.
First, let’s make sure you watched the correct video on Ancestry TreeShare. This one was made using RM7. The only difference is how you access TreeShare. In RM8 its under Publish.
RootsMagic’s TreeShare for Ancestry
I previously watched the TreeSearch video for version 7. When I searched for videos related to RM8 I found and watched 2 you tube videos "Synch Your Family Tree Between Ancestry & Family Search with RootsMagic and Sync your trees on FamilySearch and Ancestry: an Interview of Bruce Buzbee of RootsMagic.
Both indicate the necessity of creating new trees, and not just accessing one of my existing Ancestry trees.
At least one of those videos that you mentions has nothing to do with what you are trying to accomplish. TreeShare works ONLY with Ancestry. So disregard the FamilySearch bots you saw. If you note, in that video, she did not use TreeShare to copy information to Family Search.
If your RM file is not already linked to the Ancestry tree, then you do need to either upload your RM file to a new Ancestry Tree or download the Ancestry Tree to a new RM file. It sounds as if you already were exchanging information back and forth between Ancestry and RM. If so, there is already a link. So specifically what issues are you facing?
I’ve been playing around with my RM8, learning how to use it. Just finished going through my whole alphabetical list of Locations and editing them for consistency and merging duplicate locations. Next step was going to be learning how to use TreeShare with RM8. I haven’t tried it yet, was just looking for instructions on how it worked in RM8 and came across these 2 videos, and thread in the RootsMagic Community talking about all the problems they’d had trying to use TreeShare. Since I posted this topic I found the RootsMagic Guide WebHints & TreeShare for Ancestry which I’ve printed and will read before I try it.
Will the link I’d established with RM7 to my Ancestry tree work with my RM8 tree? Or will that have to be relinked?
If you imported your RM7 database into RM8, then the link will still be there to the Ancestry tree. If you moved your RM7 data via GEDCOM, I believe that will break the link and you will then need to upload your RM8 file to a new Ancestry Tree, or pull the Ancestry tree down to a new file. Once the link is broken between RM and Ancestry, it can not be reconnected.
If you are looking for how to TreeShare in RM8, make sure you have your file open, then click the File menu (piece of paper icon on the left menu), select ‘Export Data’, choose ‘Ancestry’ and login if needed. You will quickly find out if your file is linked to the Ancestry tree, or if you will have to take steps of either uploading or downloading to establish the connection.
Thank you. I imported my RM7 database into RM8 so hopefully the link will still be there.
2 other questions before I try this.
- is there a way to NOT share media? I don’t know that my laptop has room for all the media I have in my Ancestry tree and
- Will the Person Notes from RM8 show up anywhere on my Ancestry tree? I have Person Notes on most every person in my RM8 tree, most of which I would not want made public. They did not show up when I used TreeShare with RM7.
- When creating a new Ancestry tree you can select to not include media. Afterwards any updating will include media automatically. You can break the media link temporarily by changing the name of the folder they are in so no media is uploaded to Ancestry.
- Person notes would be general notes and will upload to Ancestry in RM8.
FYI: The RM GEDCOM will preserve the link to the Ancestry tree if imported directly into RM.
Well, I guess that settles it, I won’t be using TreeShare if all my Person Notes are going to show up on Ancestry. I’ll just have to do double entries.
Thanks for your help.
Good point. You’d think that RM would provide privacy (and other inclusion control) settings for TreeShare uploads similar to what it provides for Export.
Ancestry says of its notes ‘Notes can only be viewed by the owner and by those invited to the tree as an “editor”.’ Unlike Ancestry’s ‘comments’ they are not visible to others looking at your tree.
We are limited by what Ancestry API allows. In RM you can mark a fact private and it will not upload to Ancestry. If you have private notes put them under a fact you can mark private. The only way they would upload to Ancestry in that case is by forcing the private fact to upload on the person level in TreeShare.
Ok, blaming the tools again it looks like. If there are private notes, that means that RM has to strip them, just like it does the facts BEFORE the Ancestry API even comes into play! To expect people to move their notes to a private fact is just asinine and defeats part of the purpose of having said private notes.
I’m thinking that privacy braces {this bit is private} should be respected in the uploads and comparisons if that is a privacy option for that TreeShare connection a user has selected.