.GED File Extension
GEDCOM Genealogy Data File
| Developer | The LDS Church |
| Popularity |
3.2 | 74 Votes |
What is a GED file?
A GED file is a data file saved in the GEnealogical Data COMmunications (GEDCOM) format. It contains records of family history and genealogical event data, along with metadata linking the records. The GED files often include information about births, deaths, marriages, the number of offspring, and the physical attributes of family members.
More Information
The GEDCOM format was developed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (The LDS Church) and initially released in the 1980s. The purpose of GEDCOM is to be a uniform format that genealogical researchers could utilize to save and exchange data.
Since its initial release, the format has undergone several revisions, the most notable being 5.5.1. This version of the format was released in 1999 and is the most widely-used version. In 2021, FamilySearch, a software company affiliated with The LDS Church, released version 7.0 of GEDCOM, which included support for .GDZ files.
The GEDCOM format may be used by both casual and professional users that document genealogical data. Casual users typically document their own family data, while professional users often document data for academic purposes.
NOTE: GED files may also be saved as .GEDCOM files.
How to open a GED file
You can open GED files with a variety of genealogy applications, including RootsMagic (Windows, Mac), Ancestral Author (Windows, Mac), MyHeritage Family Tree Builder (Windows, Mac), and GeneWeb (cross-platform). You can also upload GEDCOM files to Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org (Web).
Since GED files are saved in a text format, you can also open the files with a plain text editor, such as Microsoft Notepad (Windows) or Apple TextEdit (macOS), and edit them. Keep in mind that opening GED files with a text editor will not display the information in the same structure as if they were displayed in a genealogical application.