# GEDCOMs

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gedcoms/36058>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 7, 2000, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gedcoms/36058 "2000-10-07T14:31:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![tsarina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f4b2a3/32.png) [@tsarina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tsarina)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2000, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gedcoms/36058/1 "2000-10-07T14:31:34Z")

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Does anybody know where I can download something for Mac that will read a GEDCOM file?

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**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\
**Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gedcoms/36058/2 "2000-10-09T12:26:47Z")

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Yeah, sort of…

A GEDCOM file is a database file for family history, but probably you already knew that. Most family history software will import/export to GEDCOM format.

There is also a program called GED2HTML which does what it sounds like it does–converts the GEDCOM file into a hierarchy of HTML files.

If you want the data from a GEDCOM file made readable by some type of non-family-history database, well…

GEDCOM is also an abomination in the eyes of God and an example of how NOT to store structured data. Open your GEDCOM file with a text editor like BBEdit Lite and you’ll see what I mean. You can NOT just import it into FileMaker or Excel, that’s for sure!

I have successfully imported GEDCOM data into a FileMaker Pro solution but only via GED2HTML and one hell of a parsing script. Directly from GEDCOM I haven’t mastered yet. If you do find a good guide to parsing the damn stuff, be sure to let me know, OK?

Anyway, GED2HTML is at:

[http://www.gendex.com/ged2html/3.6/downloading.html](http://www.gendex.com/ged2html/3.6/downloading.html)

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**Author:** ![tsarina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f4b2a3/32.png) [@tsarina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tsarina)\
**Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gedcoms/36058/3 "2000-10-09T13:42:38Z")

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I downloaded the program, but it wouldn’t open my GEDCOM file. I was later able to open it with Appleworks, but it was just stuff I already knew, so it was pretty pointless.

Thanks for the link though.