uFTi user manual: Android phone

Oughtibridge Ltd

• Status: Beta

© 2026 Oughtibridge Ltd

This publication is available at https://docs.ufti.com/android-phone/Alpha-1/

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Quick Start

Six short pages that take you from opening uFTi to your first person, with its source and a copy.

This takes about ten minutes. Each page has a few steps. Do them in order.

Get uFTi

Open uFTi for the first time.

A workspace is one family tree.

Open uFTi from your list of apps.

The Workspaces screen opens.

This is where your trees live. You may see some sample workspaces already. You do not need them.

Next: Add your first person.

Add your first person

Make your own workspace and add yourself, or someone you know well.

1. On Workspaces, choose Create workspace.

   A small box named New workspace opens.

2. Keep the name that is there, or type a name of your own.
3. Choose Create.
4. Choose + at the top right.

   A sheet named Add a record opens.

5. Under Add a new person, choose Basic details. Then choose Add.

   The form for a new person opens.

6. Type a first name in Given name(s). Type a last name in Surname.

   Start with yourself, or someone you know well. Only the first name is needed.

7. Choose Save.

   A short message says Saved.

8. Type the name in the search box, then choose Search.
9. Choose the card with the person's name.

   The page for that person opens.

That is your first person. uFTi saves your work as you go.

Next: Look around.

Look around

See what the five tabs and the search box do for the person you added.

Add a person first.

The bar along the bottom of the screen shows the main places. Most of them show the person you are looking at.

1. Choose Person.

   It shows that person's page.

2. Choose Facts.

   It lists the facts for that person.

3. Choose Family.

   It draws a tree, which the screen calls a pedigree.

4. Choose More.

   It lists Notes and some other places. They are for later.

5. Type a few letters of a name in the search box, then choose Search.

   The results are the only list of people. Choose a card to open that person.

To go back one screen, choose the back arrow at the top left.

Next: Say where you found it.

Say where you found it

Add a source to a fact, so you always know why you believe it.

Open the page of a person who has a birth date.

To find a person, type their name in the search box and choose Search. Then choose the card with their name.

1. Choose the small chip beside Birth.

   It shows a number and a plus sign, such as 0 +.

   A screen named Sources opens.

2. Choose Add source, then Add a new source.
3. In Title, type where you know this from.

   For example, My birth certificate or Mum told me. Only this box is needed.

4. Choose Save source.
5. Choose Done, then Done again.

   The number on the chip goes up by one.

The fact now has a source. Later, when two records disagree, this is how you will know what to believe.

Next: Keep it safe.

Keep it safe

Save a copy of your tree as a file, and keep it somewhere else too.

1. Choose the Workspaces tab.
2. On the card for your tree, choose Save as….

   A small box named Save workspace as opens.

3. Choose how to save your tree.
   • GEDZIP archive (.gdz) — includes media saves everything in one file, with its pictures. Choose this one.
   • GEDCOM file (.ged) saves the tree and its research notes as a family tree file, without pictures. Choose it only for a program that cannot read a GEDZIP file. If asked which version, choose GEDCOM 7 unless that program is old.
4. When Android asks where to put the file, choose a place you will remember, such as Downloads. Then choose Save.

You now have a copy. Make a new one after you add a lot. To email it, find it in the Files app. Keep a copy off your phone too.

If you opened a file from another program, uFTi keeps its own copy. The file you chose does not change.

Next: What next.

What next

You have a tree, a person, a fact with its source and a copy, so choose where to go from here.

Well done. What do you want to do now?

• Record more of what you have found. Say where you found it shows how.
• Learn the ideas behind it all. Read Five things to know. It takes two minutes.

Five things to know

The five ideas behind uFTi, in two minutes.

A workspace is one family tree

You can have more than one. Each shows as a card on the Workspaces screen. Make a new workspace for each tree.

People and families

Add a person for each relative. A family joins a couple. uFTi draws a tree from your families. Choose Family to see it.

Facts and sources

A fact is something you record, such as a birth with its date. A source is where you found it. It can be a certificate, a census page, or what someone told you. A small chip beside each heading on a person's page counts the sources. Choose the chip to add one. Then you will always know why you believe a fact.

Saving and copies

uFTi saves your work as you go. To keep a copy, choose Save as… on your workspace's card. Keep the file somewhere else too. Do it again after a big session.

Getting help

Look in this guide when you are stuck. Use its search box, and type the words you would say. Practise in a workspace you make for the purpose.

Bring in, share and keep safe

What your workspace holds, why a GEDZIP file is the one to keep and send, and when a plain family tree file is better.

Your tree is more than one file. It is the family tree, its research notes, and the pictures and other files you attach. This chapter says what uFTi does with a file you open, how to keep a copy safe, and which file to send.

The short answer is the GEDZIP file. It holds your whole workspace in one file. Keep your work in a GEDZIP file, and send a GEDZIP file to anyone who also uses uFTi.

A plain family tree file is for older programs only. It leaves out your pictures and other attached files.

Your tree may have started in another program. Your family may want a copy. This chapter is for both.

Your workspace and its files

A workspace is your family tree and its linked files, and a GEDZIP file holds all of them in one file.

A workspace is one family tree and everything kept with it. That is the family tree file, with its research notes, and the pictures and other files you attach to people, facts and sources.

Linked files

The family tree file does not hold your pictures. It links to them, and the pictures stay in files of their own. The same is true of other attached files.

So if you send only the family tree file, the other person gets the tree and its links, but not the pictures.

One file for the whole workspace

A GEDZIP file puts the family tree file and all the files linked to it into one file. You send one file, and nothing is left behind. Another person who uses uFTi opens it and sees your whole workspace.

For that reason, a GEDZIP file is the one to keep and the one to share between copies of uFTi.

The plain family tree file

A plain family tree file holds the people, families, facts, sources and research notes. It does not hold the pictures or other attached files.

When you save one, uFTi asks which version of GEDCOM to use. Choose GEDCOM 7, which was published in 2021 and is the one it recommends. Choose GEDCOM 5.5.1, which was published in 1999, only for an older program that cannot read GEDCOM 7.

A GEDZIP file holds a GEDCOM 7 family tree file, with the pictures and other attached files beside it.

At a glance

Table 1. Which file holds what

File	The tree and its research notes	Pictures and other attached files	Use it to
GEDZIP file	Yes	Yes	Keep your work, and share it with another copy of uFTi.
Plain family tree file	Yes	No	Share with another program that reads GEDCOM, or work with one.

Opened files and copies

On a phone or tablet, uFTi works on its own copy of the file you choose, so the file you chose stays as it was.

When you choose a family tree file, uFTi gets a copy of it and keeps the copy as its own. When the file opens, uFTi says so in one line. It works on that copy, so the file you chose does not change.

The file you chose

The file you chose stays as it was, however much you add. That also means it does not show your new work.

Get your tree out

The copy that uFTi works on is not a file you can pick up and send. To get your tree out, choose Save as… on the card for your tree. Then choose how to save it, and where to put the file. Choose the GEDZIP file, unless you need a plain family tree file for an older program.

The file you save is a saved copy. It stays as it was when you made it. Make a new one after you add a lot.

Sending your tree

Send a GEDZIP copy that you saved. Which file to send says why.

Which file to send

Send a GEDZIP file to anyone who uses uFTi, and a plain family tree file only to an older program.

To share your tree with someone who uses uFTi, save a copy as a GEDZIP file with Save as…, and send that file. Keep it safe shows how to make one.

A GEDZIP file holds your whole workspace: the tree, its research notes, and the pictures and other attached files. It is one file, so you can send it from your phone. Nothing is left behind, so the other person sees what you see. Your workspace and its files says more.

For an older program

Some older programs cannot read a GEDZIP file. For them, save a plain family tree file instead. It holds the people, families, facts, sources and research notes, but not the pictures or other attached files. If the other person needs the pictures, send them as well.

Do not send the file you chose

Do not send the file you chose when you opened your tree. uFTi did not change it, so it does not show your new work. The copy that uFTi works on is not a file you can send.

A saved copy stays as it was when you made it. Make a new one before you send, if you have added anything since.

fact

Something you record about a person, such as a birth with its date and place.

family tree file

A GEDCOM file that holds a whole family tree, with its people, families, facts, sources and research notes. It does not hold pictures or other attached files. You can open one, save one and send one.

GEDCOM

The standard format for family tree files. Many family tree programs read it. GEDCOM 5.5.1 was published in 1999. It has been the common format for more than twenty years. GEDCOM 7, published in 2021, is the newer version. A version belongs to the standard, not to uFTi.

GEDZIP

One file that holds a whole workspace. It has the family tree with its research notes, and the pictures and other files. It is the best way to save and send your work.

pedigree

A family tree drawn for one person. It shows their parents above them, and their partners and children.

saved copy

A copy of your tree that you save yourself, as a GEDZIP file (preferred) or a family tree file. It stays as it was when you made it.

source

Where you found a fact. It can be a certificate, a census page, a book, or what someone told you.

workspace

One family tree and everything kept with it. That is the family tree file with its research notes, and the pictures and other files you attach. A GEDZIP file holds all of it. You can have more than one.

Glossary

F

fact

Something you record about a person, such as a birth with its date and place.

family tree file

A GEDCOM file that holds a whole family tree, with its people, families, facts, sources and research notes. It does not hold pictures or other attached files. You can open one, save one and send one.

G

GEDCOM

The standard format for family tree files. Many family tree programs read it. GEDCOM 5.5.1 was published in 1999. It has been the common format for more than twenty years. GEDCOM 7, published in 2021, is the newer version. A version belongs to the standard, not to uFTi.

GEDZIP

One file that holds a whole workspace. It has the family tree with its research notes, and the pictures and other files. It is the best way to save and send your work.

P

pedigree

A family tree drawn for one person. It shows their parents above them, and their partners and children.

S

saved copy

A copy of your tree that you save yourself, as a GEDZIP file (preferred) or a family tree file. It stays as it was when you made it.

source

Where you found a fact. It can be a certificate, a census page, a book, or what someone told you.

W

workspace

One family tree and everything kept with it. That is the family tree file with its research notes, and the pictures and other files you attach. A GEDZIP file holds all of it. You can have more than one.