Here are answers to common questions about the new Family Group Trees feature.
Who should use Family Group Trees?
Family Group Trees benefit families who want to see each other's information in Family Tree. They can collaborate and share important life events, photos, stories, and sources about themselves and each other.
Can my ward have a Family Group Tree?
Your ward can have a family group that is used for sharing ordinances. However, please do not turn on Family Group Trees option for a ward group. Ward members are not related to each other enough to benefit from a Family Group Tree.
Can I convert my ordinance sharing group into a group with a Family Group Tree?
If your existing family group already has the people you want in a Family Group Tree, you can turn on the Family Group Tree option within the existing group. The group can share both ordinances and a tree.
Who can use Family Group Trees?
As a precaution to protect children and youth, only users over 18 can create a group. However, all users can participate in Family Group Trees. Users under age 18 can be administrators in a group once it is created.
Can a Family Group Tree include both people who are Church members and people who are not?
A Family Group Tree can have both members and public users. Church members will see both the tree and temple-related features. Public users will see the same tree but not the temple-related features.
Can I reserve ordinances from a Family Group Tree?
Family Group Trees are intended for living family, so it does not make sense to reserve ordinances from within Family Group Tree.
There will be one exception in the future. Reserving ordinances for confidential deceased persons in a Family Group Tree is not working currently, but we hope to have this available in the future.
Are there size limits for a Family Group Trees?
A family group can have up to 500 participants.
There are no limits on the number of people who can be added to the Family Group Tree.
What features can I use in a Family Group Tree?
In a Family Group Tree, you can use the same tree-related features that are available for everyone else in the tree, including sources, record hints, time line, memories, notes, and so forth.
A few Family Tree features are not available for any living person in Family Tree:
- Ordinance information about living people
- Discussions
- Find
- Follow and following list
How does merging work in a Family Group Tree?
If the same person appears more than once within the same Family Group Tree, you can use the Merge By ID feature to merge them.
If the duplicates are in different trees, they cannot be merged. For example, you cannot merge the record of yourself from your private tree with the record of yourself in a Family Group Tree.
Can I be in more than one Family Group Tree?
Yes, you can be multiple Family Group Trees.
Currently, you can view only one Family Group Tree at a time within your browser. You cannot, for example, open one Family Group Tree in one browser tab and display a different group tree in another tab in that same browser.
If you want to open more than one Family Group Tree at a time, open them in different browsers such as one tree in Chrome and the other in Firefox.
Who can see and edit information about me in a Family Group Tree?
All group members can see and edit all of the information in a Family Group Tree.
How can I tell which tree is displayed and switch between them?
When you use Family Group Trees, a new selector appears in the upper-left corner. It tells you which tree is currently displayed and lets you switch between your private tree and your Family Group Trees.
Can I import a GEDCOM file into my Family Group Tree?
GEDCOM imports are not available at this time.
Related articles
Future upgrades in Family Group Trees
What is new in Family Group Trees?
Instructions for Group Administrators
Instructions for Group Participants