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How can I link multimedia files (photos, audio, video etc.) to my family tree?

There are 2 ways to do this. Manualy or via your Gedcom file.

Manualy

After you have imported your Gedcom file, you can add multimedia files via ‘Admin panel > Add multimedia file’. You can add the files to an existing tree or to a new tree. If you add them to a tree based on a Gedcom import, the new records will be deleted when you re-import this Gedcom file. If you want to preserve them, you can add them to a tree that is not based on a Gedcom import. You can still link them to persons in other trees, but the links will not be deleted during a Gedcom import. Warning: only as long as the linked to records in the Gedcom file still have the same ids, will the added records remain linked to the right Gedcom records.

Via a Gedcom file

Most programs export links to multimedia files in a Gedcom file. When you import this Gedcom file into Family Tree PHP, these multimedia links get imported too. But you have to upload the multimedia files via FTP to the folder ‘files’.

In most Gedcom files, the multimedia links are something like: C:\Documents and Settings\USER\My Documents\My Pictures\Genealogy\photo1.jpg. Family Tree PHP can’t use this link, because it refers to the harddisc of your pc. Therefore the link has to be modified. Family Tree PHP will do this based on a level setting that you can set at ‘Admin panel > Settings > In multimedia path names, how many levels must be preserved on Gedcom import?’

If you set this level to ‘0’, Family Tree PHP will strip everything from the link, except the file name. The file ‘photo1.jpg’ must be upload to the folder ‘files’. If you set this to ‘1’, Family Tree PHP will strip everything from the link, except the file name and the last subfolder. Now the file ‘Genealogy/photo1.jpg’ must be uploaded to the folder ‘files’. If you set this to ‘2’, Family Tree PHP will strip everything from the link, except the file name and the last 2 subfolders. Now the file ‘My Pictures/Genealogy/photo1.jpg’ must be uploaded to the folder ‘files’. Etcetera. For each level there has to be an extra subfolder between the folder ‘files’ and the actual file. So if you want your multimedia file in ‘files/person/documents/photos/1.jpg’ you have to set the level to ‘3’, because there are 3 subfolders between ‘files’ and ‘1.jpg’.

One Response to “How can I link multimedia files (photos, audio, video etc.) to my family tree?”

  1. Vincent says:

    Family Tree Maker 2010, and I assume older versions as well, doesn’t export Multimedia file links. Therefore, if you plan your family tree with media links in the GEDCOM, don’t waste your time on this software.

    Sources: http://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/2010/03/08/familytreemaker-organizingmedia/#comments
    http://www.phpgedview.net/media.php

    Correct me if these sources contain wrong info! But I didn’t manage to get this software to export my media links properly either. I checked the GEDCOM, no sign of multimedia links..

    Note for the webmaster, would be nice to have a “preview” option before posting a comment..

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