Use control-f to open a text box and enter one of the surnames you’re interested in. The GEDmatch instructions advise you to use the standard browser text search. That button simply opens a generic search through all GEDCOM files that are not restricted to your DNA matches. There is a Search button at the top of the screen, but this is not what you need. I’ve taken up the habit of increasing it to the maximum. The GEDmatch instructions advise that you increase the number of generations from the default of seven to at least 12.
The surnames may simply be outside the number of generations displayed.
The display is supposed to look that clunky.Īnd if your experience with the Surname Search Tool is like mine, you’ll be peering in vain at the Pedigree display – with no signs of any of the names you entered. If this is the first time you’re looking at a GEDCOM in GEDmatch, then do not adjust your screen. At this point, you’ll click on the Pedigree link. The likelihood is that you’ll see a few entries marked “HIDDEN” (as they are living individuals). But it seems to bring you to the home person in the tree. I thought that would be one of the surnames, perhaps the first you listed.
The INDIV ID link opens the tree at a particular entry. The tool gives you very little help in locating the surnames that the algorithm has found. This is a part of this feature that I think really needs more work.
This isn’t a new feature, it’s already available as a free feature from the Home Page. The “CMP” link opens the One-To-One comparison tool for two GEDCOM files. Here’s a guide to uploading a GEDCOM file to GEDmatch. The option to compare GEDCOMs is only available when you’ve linked your DNA kit to an associated tree. One-To-One GEDCOM Comparison – A Time Saver If the algorithm doesn’t have to figure that out, then the surname search just treats the GEDCOM as a jumbled list of surnames to run through. It tells me that that identifying the direct line takes considerable processing units for GEDmatch. That seems counter-intuitive when fewer entries have to be searched. The only reason I was looking at this option was in case it improved the processing time.īut interestingly, this option increases the processing resources and time. If you turn on this option, the search is limited to the direct line in each GEDCOM. That would tell me that the tool creators are aiming for more surnames in the search rather than fewer. The instructions page gives an example scenario of throwing in all the surnames from a census page (and the pages before and after). Realistically, I think the two surnames have to be fairly uncommon to get value. I’ve been experimenting with lowering this field to two to try and zero in on a married couple. Genealogy Quotes By Writers Minimum Surnames Of course, this depends on your total number of matches with GEDCOMs. The same top 500 matches will be considered. Otherwise, decreasing the centimorgans probably won’t have any effect on what you see. If you lower the centimorgans, then you probably want to increase the maximum number of matches considered. These are optional filters, and default to 500 and 7 respectively. It’s worth uploading a GEDCOM file to get the best use out of this tool.īy the way, if you’re not sure where to find your kit number – read this article section. A “CMP” link runs a one-to-one comparison between both trees. However, if your kit does have a GEDCOM, you’ll get an extra feature in the Results display. The primary use of the kit is to limit the searched GEDCOMs to your DNA matches. Your chosen Kit number doesn’t have to have an associated GEDCOM. I’ll run through some good choices for filling in the Search form. Tips For The GEDmatch Surname Search Form But it’s worth reading for some ideas on choosing combinations of names to explore. They don’t explain everything you’ll see on the results page (what is “ expected accidental tree matches”?). There’s a link near the top of the application page that opens a new web page. But if you’re like me, you didn’t spot it the first time of use. In what I’m hoping is a new strategy for GEDmatch, this application comes with an instructions page.