WorldConnect – Opening Doors in Brick Walls

Follow-Up on Last Week’s Post about Retiring my Family Tree on RootsWeb

While reading the comments on last week’s post on my blog and on Facebook, I realized that a follow-up post needed to be written. I would like to explain the difference between my tree on RootsWeb’s WorldConnect Project and my other genealogy work and writing. There was some misinterpretation concerning what is being retired.

As a cousin to you, I am terrified that all of your research will disappear.

There is no need to worry about my genealogy work. The blog will continue. Provisions have been taken for the hundreds of hours of work put into my writing so that it will not be lost.

I’ve been attaching the posts to the individuals in my database. By adding the digital file to the scrapbook of the individual in Ancestral Quest, I’m creating easy access to the posts for a person or family group. Compiling and publishing the articles in book form is a future project.

My family tree is also safe. My working copy is on my laptop. The file as well as backups are on my laptop, in Dropbox, on iDrive, on a second laptop, and on an external drive. These are all up to date.

RootsWeb WorldConnect Project

RootsWeb’s WorldConnect was a perfect way to share my entire family tree publicly on the internet and for FREE while also keeping a backup of the latest version of the GEDCOM file. Contact information was included at the top of each page: my email address and links to my blog and my Facebook page. A notice was included warning users of the possibility of errors, requesting credit when my work was used, and inviting collaboration. Navigating the tree was simple and the search feature worked!

I uploaded the latest version of my GEDCOM file as often as needed. In 2017 I did this every week as changes were made to my family tree file while writing weekly posts for this blog. The link to the latest post was included in the notes of the person of interest bringing visitors back to the post long after it was written.

The file was updated by overwriting and not by creating a new file on the site. It was not a collaborative tree like FamilySearch Family Tree, Geni, or WikiTrees. Changes to the file could only be made by uploading an updated file. Before a hardware failure on RootsWeb in March 2016, visitors could leave post-em notes on individuals. Frequently post-ems were posted to living individuals making me aware of missing death information.

It was hard giving up my tree on WorldConnect. Even if it was only last week that it was deleted, it had been put on ice since December 2017 at the time of the first shutdown of the site. I’ve had five years to get used to not having an updated version of my tree online.

Where will I be able to view all of your data in the future?

I’m looking into other possibilities for sharing my tree. The collaborative trees mentioned above are out of the question.

The FamilySearch Genealogies allows the upload of a GEDCOM that becomes part of their collection of tens of thousands of personal family trees, lineages, and other histories. I don’t see this as a solution as I’m assuming that they would not look kindly at receiving updated duplicate files regularly.

As a member of Luxracines, I upload my GEDCOM to their private site (viewable to members only for €20 a year). Luxracines uses TNG (The Next Generation of Genealogy Sitebuilding) to manage and display the uploaded GEDCOMs. The webmaster furnished easy-to-follow directions for the upload that wasn’t complicated but quick. This GEDCOM usually only gets updated when I do work on Luxembourgish families. I updated it today as a test.

TNG might be a solution but would mean maintaining a website and paying for hosting. I would need someone to help me get started…

Another possibility would be to use Ancestry. It’s been several years since I tried to upload my GEDCOM with notes and sources to Ancestry. At the time it failed as the file was over the limit. Currently, I have 117,000 individuals, and a GEDCOM totals 114 MB. I checked Ancestry and the limit is now 500 MB or smaller. With this limit in mind and as a test, I uploaded my tree with all notes and sources today. The first thing I did was to make it private and searchable.

On RootsWeb WorldConnect I never allowed the download of a partial or full GEDCOM as I did not want my work imported into other people’s trees. For this reason, I would keep it private but searchable if shared on Ancestry. I could give people guest access with restricted viewing of information on living people.

My genealogy software, Ancestral Quest doesn’t sync with Ancestry. Any work done offline in AQ or online on Ancestry would have to be reproduced in one or the other tree. Twice as much work and it would require discipline on my part.

I feel it is best to continue working offline in AQ as I have been doing. This would ensure that sources are cited inside AQ. Then routinely (every month, three months, or six months) upload the updated file from AQ to Ancestry and send out new invitations to the persons who may have guest access to the tree.

While writing this, I planted my tree on Luxracines and Ancestry. The second may only be a temporary home for my GEDCOM file as I don’t feel as comfortable with the platform as I did with WorldConnect. Ideas and suggestions are welcome.

Retiring my Family Tree on RootsWeb’s WorldConnect

Our Meder-Dempsey Family, a GEDCOM file, was uploaded to RootsWeb’s WorldConnect Project on 6 December 2002. It was renamed Opening Doors in Brick Walls in October 2011. The file was continuously updated until December 2017 when the site was taken down for security reasons by Ancestry®. (RootsWeb’s WorldConnect was brought back online in April 2018. All links in posts on this blog are redirected to the new beta site. As of 9 August 2021, WorldConnect was set to read-only and no further GEDCOM uploads are possible.) ~ From my About page on this blog

I recently found this banner at the top of my GEDCOM file on RootsWeb.

Screenshot (25 Feb 2023) of my GEDCOM file on RootsWeb’s WorldConnect.

Note: WorldConnect family trees will be removed from RootsWeb on April 15, 2023 and will be migrated to Ancestry later in 2023. (More info)

On the “More info” page there isn’t much more information about this other than:

“WorldConnect family trees (last updated on 9 August 2021) will be retired on 15 April 2023 and migrated to Ancestry as a new free-access collection later in the year. For help removing a tree or its content, contact us.”

Last Saturday I sent a message using their contact form with two questions.

Would the individuals’ links redirect to Ancestry‘s new collection?
Can the tree be removed after migration?

A reply came yesterday. Following the standard explanation about the change, two sentences appear to answer my questions.

“Migrating these features will create an opportunity for members to download, update and build more family trees, share posts and their own research. Once migration is complete, there will be no redirects and the files will probably behave similarly to Public Member Trees in Ancestry.”

They did not clearly state that the trees can be deleted from the collection after migration. The only reason I had not deleted my tree on WorldConnect was when they ported the trees (mine on 19 November 2019) I was told that the individuals’ links would redirect to the new URLs. Since I began blogging, hundreds of links to the file have been added to posts. To date, these have been redirected to the beta site. With the planned migration to Ancestry, all links on this blog to my GEDCOM file will be broken links.

Time to Retire the GEDCOM File

The GEDCOM file is outdated. It’s been over five years since the tree on RootsWeb was updated (upload of the file). From that time on errors have been found and corrected and new information has been added to my database.

In November 2019, the formatting of the notes and sources after porting left much to be desired. I have no idea how this will look in the new collection Ancestry has planned. If Ancestry can migrate the GEDCOM file last uploaded to WorldConnect before the December 2017 shutdown, it should “behave” like any GEDCOM file uploaded to Ancestry. However, if the GEDCOM was corrupted when ported to the new site, the result may be less than desired.

This morning I sent a request to have my tree deleted before migration. I did this with a heavy heart. My tree has grown and been pruned during the 20-plus years it has lived on WorldConnect.

I continue to build my database in my genealogy software Ancestral Quest. Backups are kept in Dropbox, IDrive, and on an external drive. I don’t consider Ancestry a good place to store a backup.

The last time I tried to upload my GEDCOM file to Ancestry with notes and sources, I got a message that it was over their limit. I never had problems uploading it to WorldConnect. I resorted to uploading a GEDCOM file – for research purposes only – stripped of notes and sources and made it private but searchable. I have a small public tree on Ancestry, FTDNA, Gedmatch, MyHeritage, and Geneanet with only direct ancestors and no notes or sources as a courtesy to DNA matches.

Friendships and cousinships developed over the years and a week without a post-em was unusual. I’ve missed interacting with people who found their relatives in Opening Doors in Brick Walls on WorldConnect but the connections continue to be made here on my blog of the same name. Ending this on a positive note: retirement isn’t a bad thing.

How to Manage Your Tree on RootsWeb’s WorldConnect

Yesterday we worked through getting your tree uploaded to RootsWeb WorldConnect. Hopefully all went well and your tree is now online. How do you manage it?

By now you know I have my genealogy database at Opening Doors in Brick Walls.

To manage your own tree on RootsWeb WorldConnect go to http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ and click on Family Trees and then on Start Here. The second link, Also, go here to update or correct your existing Family Tree will take you to the same page as Start Here.

You may have to go through the Secure Sign In if you are not already logged in.

This is a screenshot of my Tree Administration page. I now have two trees.

Click on your new tree or the tree you want to manage. You will see your Tree Information and Tree Settings.

All screenshots below were taken of the original page which opens when you click on a setting – they may or may not be the settings I would choose.

Tree Settings 1: Display Options

This will allow you to choose how you want your tree to look to the public.

Don’t like the name you chose when you uploaded the first time, you can change it here. Would you like the name to be in italics? Add <i> before the name and </i> at the end.
Do you want surnames to be bold or capitalized?
The pedigree chart can be in table format or text format.
The depth of text pedigree, descendancy, register, and Ahnentafel can be chosen.
You can include the URL and name of your website or blog and it will be seen on top of each page next to your name.
You can add a header and footer which will be seen on all of your tree pages.
If you plan to have a clickable link in the notes section of an individual (like I have in the first image in this post) you will have to Allow HTML in GEDCOM.
I selected No for “Fix buggy CONC usage” – because, honestly, I don’t know what the heck this is.

Tree Settings 2: Living Persons Options

RootsWeb automatically cleans the living persons in your GEDCOM file with the maximum value 1930.

You can choose between Clean and Remove as well as changing the year. I use the 100 year rule and have my cutoff set at 1915.
You can choose to allow your notes and sources to be seen or have one or the other removed. My personal preference is to show notes and sources as people are more likely to get in touch with corrections and additions.
If you choose to clean living persons, not remove them, they will show up as Living Surname without any other information. You have an option to include a message for all living persons. I have one explaining the cut-off and request to be contacted if a person is known to be deceased or in the case of someone over 100 years old who is still living and should be listed as living.
The last item on this page allows you to remove certain individuals. I have only used this feature once to remove the deceased spouse of a living person as this was requested by a grandchild who thought the information could be used for identity theft. This will “stick” to the tree with every updated GEDCOM file. There is no need repeat this every time you update your file.

Tree Settings 3: GEDCOM Download Options

This settings allows you to choose to allow others to download a full or partial GEDCOM of your file. I don’t allow downloads. This is up to you and if you do allow downloads you can include a message, for example, your name and contact information, which will be attached to each person in the GEDCOM.

Tree Settings 4: Owner Information

This page allows you to include your name and email address on your page as well as get email notifications when another user adds a Post-em to your tree.

Tree Settings 5: Manage Post-ems

If you do not get email notifications of the Post-ems to you tree, this is the place to check if there are any attached to your tree. You can view the person a post-em is attached to, the post-em, the name and email address of the person who posted, and you can delete the post-em if no longer needed.

Tree Settings 6: Replace Tree with New GEDCOM

Time to update the file you have online? The process is the same as uploading a new file. Replacing overwrites the old file, no need to delete first.

Tree Settings 7: Download GEDCOM

Data loss? Computer crash? No backup? You can download your last GEDCOM from RootsWeb to your computer to restore your work – at least to the date it was last updated. Please see note at the end of this post.

Tree Settings 8: Take Tree Offline

If for any reason you want your file to be hidden from the public you can use this feature. Maybe you want to keep a copy online as an emergency backup copy but are not comfortable with people seeing it.

I tried this out with the dempseyorange.ged and got this message: dempseyorange has been taken offline. Please allow up to 36 hours for this tree to be completely removed from WorldConnect searches. The Take Tree Offline is now Put Tree Online and you can put it back online whenever you want.

Tree Settings 9: Delete Tree

Do you want to delete your tree? If you are sure, when you select Proceed your GEDCOM file and user information will be permanently removed from WorldConnect.

Did I miss something or is there something you didn’t understand? WorldConnect FAQs will take you to a page with, hopefully, the answers to any questions you may have.

I hope this two part post has been helpful. I look forward to hearing from everyone who has added a new tree to RootsWeb WorldConnect. Please post the link to your tree in the comments below – I’d love to see if we have Connections!

Note: It is recommended to keep a back-up of all your data in several places, i.e. external hard drive, thumb drive, a cloud service (Dropbox, I-Drive, Google Drive, OneDrive, to name a few).

How to Upload Your Tree to RootsWeb’s WorldConnect

This two part post has been a long time coming! In August Diane Gould Hall of Michigan Family Trails posted this question to the GeneaBloggers Facebook group:

Question for all of you. When you publish your blogs about specific family branches or people, are you adding this information to your family software?

I replied:

For the posts I’ve done since I began blogging in January 2014 I have this code at the top of the note section in my genealogy program:
<a title=”TITLE” href=”LINK” target=”_blank”>TITLE</a>
I have my gedcom on rootsweb and this makes the link to my blogpost clickable on site.

Amanda Pope replied:

oooooh, Cathy Meder-Dempsey, I need to put my tree in Rootsweb! Do you have any tips (maybe a blog post? smile emoticon ) on doing so?

You hear about a computer crash and loss of data and are reminded you need to keep a copy of your genealogy database or a GEDCOM file on an external hard drive, thumb drive, or in the Cloud. I have mine in two clouds: my working file in Dropbox (mirrored on my laptop) and the most recent GEDCOM file on RootsWeb’s WorldConnect. I’ve been using RootsWeb to store and share my genealogy work since December 2002.

The first step to “putting your tree on RoostWeb” is to create a GEDCOM-format of your family tree. You don’t know what a GEDCOM file is? Amie Bowser Tennant wrote a informative post earlier this month, What Is a GEDCOM File and Why Do I Need It?

RootsWeb user-contributed instructions to creating GEDCOM files with some of the most-used genealogy software programs may be a bit outdated so check the user’s manual of your genealogy program if you need help.

While checking out how to best do this post I learned there is a NEW way (at least to me) to go into the site to get this done. My database is at Opening Doors in Brick Walls. Go there and click on Family Trees or go to http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/.

You’ve already created (exported) and saved your GEDCOM file to your computer – remember the location!

We are going to click on Start Here but first a short explanation of #1 and #2. This is a new platform they have to upload your GEDCOM. If you are interested in seeing the old platform click on Click here next to #1. If you already have a tree on RootsWeb you can click the link next to #2 to correct or update your tree.

Click on Start Here to go to the Secure Sign In. If you already have a Username and Password for RootsWeb or Ancestry.com you can sign in without registering.

If you are not registered, click on Register and follow the directions on the next screen.

Once you are registered and signed in you will be directed to the Tree Administration page. This is a screenshot of my account. If you are a new user, this list will be empty. Click on Add New Tree.

To add a New WorldConnect Tree you will go through Step 1-3. As an example I created a GEDCOM for a non-attached family in my database: a study of the Dempsey families of Orange County, Virginia.

Step 1 of 3

Enter Tree ID: I choose dempseyorange
Enter Tree Title: Dempseys of Orange County, Virginia
Click on Create

Step 2 of 3

Click Browse and go to the location you saved your copy of the GEDCOM on your computer, type in or click on file name and Open.

When the GEDCOM file has been selected, click on Upload File.

Step 3 of 3

A little window will open to show the upload process. This example was a very small GEDCOM with only 290 individuals and took only 4 seconds. In the screen above the file is still being processed and as soon as all living persons have been cleaned the file will be viewable to the public. If you click on View Your Tree you will see the file is still being processed.

When you refresh the window after processing is finished you will see your family tree file. You will notice below (compared to my Opening Doors in Brick Walls page) that there is no header or footer (these will be added later in settings):