michaladerson4
Guest
Sep 30, 2026
11:20 PM
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Family Tree Maker and Ancestry can work together through FamilySync, allowing genealogists to keep much of their family history available both on their computer and online. However, synchronization does not transfer every type of information. If you notice Family Tree Maker not syncing with Ancestry, the missing information may be caused by a known Family Sync limitation rather than a technical error.
Understanding Family Sync
Family Sync synchronizes most core family-tree information, including names, relationships, facts, sources, citations, repositories, and many types of media. However, Family Tree Maker and Ancestry use different data structures, so certain information is unique to one platform and cannot be transferred. Because of this, an Ancestry tree should not be treated as a complete backup of your Family Tree Maker tree. Regular manual backups are recommended to protect your genealogy research.
What Does Not Sync to Ancestry?
Some Family Tree Maker information does not sync to Ancestry. This includes private facts, notes and media, certain source citation details, source-template information, media categories, audio and video files, web-page archives, and some types of notes. Short place names and GPS coordinates also have synchronization limitations.
Other Family Tree Maker specific information, such as tasks, saved charts, reports and books, color coding, Change Log data, and person web links, should also be maintained in your original Family Tree Maker file.
What Does Not Sync from Ancestry to FTM?
Synchronization limitations also apply in the opposite direction. Some Ancestry information, including comments, military pages, DNA results, photo tags, web links, stories, and albums, does not download into Family Tree Maker.
Media and File Limitations
Media can also create confusion during synchronization. Documents uploaded from FTM must meet supported file-type and size requirements. For Family tree maker 2024, documents over 15 MB are not uploaded through FamilySync, and supported document formats include PDF, DOC, DOCX, TXT, and RTF. Photos exceeding Ancestry's 15 MB limit may not upload or may be resized during the transfer, depending on the operating system.
How to Handle Sync Problems
If supported information genuinely fails to synchronize, first try the sync again. Avoid making changes to the online Ancestry tree while an upload, download, or synchronization is in progress. If repeated attempts fail, trying again during off-peak hours may help. Mackiev's current troubleshooting guidance also recommends using its support resources if the problem continues.
The latest Family Tree Maker 2024 update, version 25.0.2, also includes improvements to sync, upload, and download stability, as well as fixes related to Ancestry notes syncing. Keeping Family Tree Maker updated can therefore be an important troubleshooting step.
Conclusion
Family Tree Maker and Ancestry provide useful synchronization, but they should not be expected to contain identical information. Understanding which data transfers and which information has limitations can help you avoid unnecessary troubleshooting. Most importantly, maintain regular backups of your family tree maker so that private data, notes, media, reports, and other unique genealogy information remain protected.
Source:
family tree maker not syncing with ancestry
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