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uFTi Quick Start: Android phone

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  • Status: Beta

© 2026 Oughtibridge Ltd

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

Website version

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.

The Workspaces screen, with the Create workspace and Add from file buttons under its heading

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.

The form for a new person, with Patrick typed in the Given name(s) box and Brontë in the Surname box

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.

Search results for Bront, one card for each Brontë, with the bar of five tabs along the bottom of the screen

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.
The two choices for saving a workspace as a file, with a Cancel button, over the Workspaces screen

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?

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.

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.

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

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.