What is a gedcom, and is the software download from the LDS a GECOM?

Answer 1

Hey Be Quiet,

GEDCOM, an acronym for GEnealogical Data COMmunication, is a specification for exchanging genealogical data between different genealogy software. GEDCOM was developed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as an aid in their extensive genealogical research. A GEDCOM file is plain text (an obscure text encoding named ANSEL, though often in ASCII in the United States) containing genealogical information about individuals, and data linking these records together. Most genealogy software supports importing from and/or exporting to GEDCOM format.

Don't worry if you think this is religious, they LDS do not come looking for you if you use that format. Below is the site for the FREE Genealogy Software from LDS. This GEDCOM format is available in ALL the major GENEALOGY software so that people can share information.

Answer 2

http://www.tedpack.org/gedcom.html

has three pages about GEDCOMs.

The Mormons let you download any of their data as a GEDCOM, which you can then uploa dinto your genealogy program at roughly 1,000 lines a second, which is faster than most people can type. They only let you download 3 - 6 generations at a time, which slows things down.

They also offer PAF, a genealogy program, for free. FTM and Roots Magic are better but cost $30 or so. (If they were not as good as PAF, no one would buy them. Ergo, they must have more features.) There are a dozen other well-known genealogy programs out there; FTM is the market leader for PCs in the USA, I like RM better.

Answer 3

It is a "standardized" format for genealogy.

To expand on the previous answer, when selecting a genealogy program it is important to pick one that recognizes this format. (most of them do, but I've seen a couple that don't) When you convert your file to GEDCOM format, you can basically use the file in most of the other genealogy programs making it much easier to share your file with a fellow researcher or try a different program if you don't like the one you are using.

A word on sharing though... when someone shares their file with you, it is wise NOT to import it into your own file without conducting your own research. When people import other peoples data without checking, it makes it easier for the errors to go on and on. Remember, just because you see the same piece of data on 23 trees, doesn't make the information correct. Do yourself a favor and do the research it takes to get there.