So, you’ve clicked on the download link and FTAnalyzer has been installed, but what next?

The first thing you need to do is to open your Family Tree data. Your family tree data will be a file with an extension of .ged  This type of file is called a GEDCOM file and is an industry standard method of exchanging family tree data between different software programs. 

The default file output from Family Tree software is not gedcom, but all Family Tree programs can export and import gedcom files.

Creating a gedcom file for your Family Tree software is covered in the section Using FTAnalyzer with popular Family History Programs

Click on the File in the top left hand cornet of FTAnalyzer and click on Open.  Navigate to where you have saved your gedcom file.  Highlight the file name and click on open.

Data about the file and the records that are loading will appear in the bottom box.  Some errors may also be displayed during the load operation, but don’t worry!  FTAnalyzer will help you fix those!  At the end of the load, some statistics are displayed, number of Direct Ancestors, Blood relations etc.

After successfully loading, a message box will pop up to tell you that the load has been completed.

Click OK to continue.

Now you can use the various reports to analyse the data in your Family Tree.  These reports are covered in more detail in their own section in the documentation.