How to Compact and Back Up a Tree
PROTECT YOUR TREES
Whether you are getting ready to update your copy of Family Tree Maker or about to embark on any other significant event such as using a new synching technology like FamilySync® for the first time, it's a good idea to make sure your main tree is protected with a full, restorable copy that’s not in your computer.
ALL OTHER USERS
You should compact and save your main tree manually into a location other than your computer.
Here's how:
STEP ONE - COMPACT YOUR FILE
Simplified instructions:
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Open your tree, then select Compact File from the Tools menu.
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In the window that appears, click Compact.
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In the window that appears, confirming that compacting was successful, click OK.
Step-by-step:
For detailed illustrated instructions, click here.
STEP TWO - BACK UP YOUR FILE
Simplified instructions:
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Select Backup from the File menu.
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In the Backup the Tree window that appears, check boxes to include media files and historical events, and if your tree is linked with one on Ancestry.com, make sure that the checkbox “Allow restored file to resume syncing” is selected.
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Click Backup.
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In the window that appears to confirm a successful backup, click OK.
Step-by-step:
For detailed illustrated instructions, click here.
STEP THREE — MOVE TO A SAFE PLACE
All too often, we hear from users who have lost their tree file in a flood, fire, or hard drive crash, including all their backups. That can be completely avoided by moving a copy to a location away from your computer.
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Using File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (macOS), locate your backup where you saved it. Unless you've changed the suggested name while creating a backup, it would be named after your tree, plus the date of backup, and will have an .ftmb extension.
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Connect an external drive to your computer, or connect to a cloud storage service of your choice, like Dropbox.
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Copy the backup file to the external drive or cloud storage service.
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If you are using a physical external drive, make sure to eject the drive properly to avoid having an incomplete or corrupted copy. If you have Family Tree Maker installed on another computer it's a good idea to try copying the file onto that computer and opening it. Keep the drive in a safe location away from your computer, like in a safe deposit box at your bank.
Compacting a File in FTM 2017, 2019 and 2024
As you add, delete, move, and edit records and objects in your tree file, the database may need some periodic maintenance. The easy-to-use Compact File tool helps you to perform that maintenance, resulting in a smaller and smoother-running tree file. Compacting the file may take several minutes, depending on the size of your tree.
How do I compact a file in FTM 2017, 2019 or 2024?
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Choose Compact File from the Tools menu.
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If you did not have a tree file open, a dialog will appear. Navigate to the file you want to compact, select it, and click the Open button.
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In the Compact File dialog that appears, make sure Perform extended analysis is checked. This will analyze the tree file more deeply, looking for errors and fixing them, but may make the compacting process slightly longer. Click the Compact button to proceed.
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The file will be compacted. Once the process is complete, a message will appear telling you by how much the file size has been reduced. Click OK.
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Previously, we have recommended that you repeat these steps until the completion message tells you that the file size has been reduced by 0.00%, or as close as you can get to it. This is no longer necessary. If you choose to do so, it won't harm your file, but will likely have little to no added benefit.
Backing Up a Tree File in FTM 2017, 2019 and 2024
Making a full manual backup of your tree file is something that you should do often. An up-to-date full backup ensures that you will be able to immediately restore your tree — including media and the link to your online tree if you have one — should something unexpectedly go wrong with your current file. For this reason you should always back up your tree file before you make any major changes like syncing, merging, updating your copy of Family Tree Maker®, and so on.
It’s also a good idea to regularly store full backups of your trees outside your computer — on an external hard drive or using a cloud storage service such as Dropbox, for example. This is a sure-fire insurance policy in the unlikely but possible event of a major hard drive crash.
Full backup files are also the safest and smoothest way of moving your tree data to Family Tree Maker on another computer.
Important: Auto-Backups made by the application do not contain media, nor do they have the information needed to relink your tree to Ancestry, so you should not rely on them as your only backups.
Backing Up a Tree File in FTM 2017, 2019 and 2024 for Mac
1. Make sure the tree you want to back up is open and choose File > Backup. The Backup the Tree dialog opens.
2. If you want a new name to distinguish your backup file from your original tree, type a new name in the Backup Filename field. For example, if you back up your tree to the same USB flash drive every time, and this backup file has the same name as a backup file that is already on the drive, then this backup will overwrite that original file.
3. Select one of these backup locations:
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DVD or flash drive: Select Removable media. In the pop-up menu, choose your DVD drive or flash drive.
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Hard disk: Select Location on this computer to save the backup file to the Family Tree Maker folder in your Documents folder. Click Change to select a new location for storing the backup on your hard disk.
4. Select the Media files checkbox to include all media items from the tree’s media folder.
5. Select the Historical events checkbox to include historical events you’ve created or edited for timelines.
6. Select the Web favorites checkbox to include all of the web addresses that you’ve added to the Manage Favorites list on the Web Search workspace.
7. If the tree is linked to an Ancestry tree, select the Allow restored file to resume syncing checkbox so the tree that’s restored from the backup file can be synced with the Ancestry tree if necessary.
8. Click Backup. A message tells you when the tree file has been backed up successfully.
Note: Backup files cannot be opened in other genealogy applications like GEDCOMs can. They can only be opened with the version of Family Tree Maker in which they were created or with a newer version of the app.
Backing Up a Tree File in FTM 2017, 2019 and 2024 for Windows
1. Make sure the tree you want to back up is open and click File > Backup. The Backup dialog opens.
2. If you want a new name to distinguish your file from your original tree, type a new name in the Backup file name field. For example, if you back up your tree to the same USB flash drive every time, and this backup file has the same name as a backup file that is already on the drive, then this backup will overwrite that original file.
3. Select one of these backup locations:
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DVD or flash drive: Select Removable media. In the drop-down list, choose your DVD drive or flash drive.
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Hard disk: Select Working directory to save the backup file to the Family Tree Maker folder in your Documents folder.
Select Custom directory and click Change to select a new location for storing the backup on your hard disk.
4. Select the Media files checkbox to include all media items from the tree’s media folder.
5. Select the Historical events checkbox to include historical events you’ve created or edited for timelines.
6. Select the Web favorites checkbox to include all of the web addresses that you’ve added to the Manage Favorites list on the Web Search workspace.
7. If the tree is linked to an Ancestry tree, select the Allow restored file to resume syncing checkbox so the tree that’s restored from the backup file can be synced with the Ancestry tree if necessary.
8. Click Backup. A message tells you when the tree file has been backed up successfully.
Note: Backup files cannot be opened in other genealogy applications like GEDCOMs can. They can only be opened with the version of Family Tree Maker in which they were created or with a newer version of the app.
