The Family Tree Maker for Mac 2 (FTMM2) CD includes a Windows program for converting family tree files between Family Tree Maker (including 2012) and FTMM2.
This is a must-have utility if you want to:
- share FTM files
- move between a PC version of FTM and a Mac version
- keep your FTM 2012 and FTMM2 synchronized (e.g. link FTMM2 with an Ancestry member tree and use FTM 2012 on the same tree, albeit unlinked)
No matter your reason, using the migration utility is better than exporting and importing using GEDCOM. That’s not giving it enough credit! It’s far better than GEDCOM for this purpose. That’s because it doesn’t have to handle all the scenarios GEDCOM does.
In case you didn’t catch it the first time, this is a Windows program. That means you’ll need Windows. Or you could get a helpful person with Windows to install it and convert files for you.
These instructions and the accompanying videos will show you (or the helpful person) how to install the migration utility in Windows, use it to convert an FTM 2012 file to FTMM2, and import the resulting file in Family Tree Maker for Mac 2.
How to Install and Use the FTM Migration Utility
- Install the migration utility in Windows from your FTMM2 CD
- Open the migration utility
- Select the migration direction (from Windows to Macintosh or from Mac to Windows)
- Browse to the source tree
- Browse to the output tree file or folder (be sure not to overwrite your source file)
- Choose whether or not to include media files
- Click the Create File button
- On the Choose Output Version window, click the OK button
- Save the log file
- Copy the output tree file and log file to your Mac
- Open the file from the Finder or select File -> Import… from the FTMM2 menubar
- Name the imported tree file
- Click the Save button
Want to share your tree? Follow along with these videos or send the link to that special someone so they can see how simple it is to convert files.
I don’t use a Mac although members of my family do. I do use Ancestry trees (4) and FTM 2012 but my researching database is RootsMagic. So the Mac info is fairly useless to me.
Betty
I just ordered the FTMM2 and was excited to download it and transfer the information from Ancestry to my new program so that I could print charts, etc. I couldn’t even sync with Ancestry. I tried everything, called Ancestry and was on the phone for an hour with them, still nothing worked. The solutions proposed on your blog are way too complicated for me but I’m going to give it a try. Isn’t there a simple patch or fix that will do the job? I’m thinking of asking Ancestry for a refund. Why hasn’t Ancestry learned to work with Apple so that their software works from the start. There are way too many people using Apple computers to not be considered when creating genealogy software.
Well, I have FTMM2 and I am attempting to convert to a Windows version for both the data and the media. I have the media box checked but it doesn’t convert the media files.
I am also trying to convert a Mac FTMM2 file to a Windows FTM2012 file, and it’s not working. The problem is that the migration utility opens it as a FTM2010 for Mac file – there is no option to open it as a FTMM2 file. You can ignore the error message that FTM2010 for Mac can only be converted into FTM2011 for Windows files, go through the dialogue and sort of open it in FTM2012, but it doesn’t work, and it crashes the program. I clicked on the check for updates to the migration utility program that was installed with it, but nothing happens. Your instructions and video are specifically for the Windows to Mac conversion. I haven’t found anything on FTM/Ancestry.com support so far about a current version of the migration utility. Their instructions also focus on the Windows to Mac conversion. I want to do this so I can export a GEDCOM that includes media link files, so I can import it into another Mac genealogy program without having to manually find and link thousands of media files. I am sending a support request email to FTM/Ancestry.com.
Reading through the FTM/Ancestry.com FAQ, I noticed a link to download the migration utility. I downloaded and installed this on on Windows 7 (uninstalled the old version first), and this version does automatically save/convert from a “Family Tree Maker for Mac” to a FTM2012 file. It opened and worked properly, media all there, and created a GEDCOM with no problem. At least with a small file.
Here is the link to download the current migration utility:
http://www.familytreemaker.com/Content/Downloads/Patch/FTMFileMigrationUtilitySetup.exe
Haven’t tried importing the GEDCOM into another program yet.