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uFTi user manual: macOS

Oughtibridge Ltd

  • Status: Beta

© 2026 Oughtibridge Ltd

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

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.

Add your first person

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

  1. On Workspaces, choose Create workspace.

    A small window named New workspace opens. It starts with a name already in the box.

  2. Type a name for your tree, such as My family, in place of the name that is there.
  3. Choose Create.

    The New person form opens.

  4. 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. If you know the birth date, type it too.

  5. Choose Save.

    The page for that person opens. If the Save button is below the bottom of the window, scroll down to it.

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

Next: Look around.

Look around

See what the main menu items show for the person you added.

Add a person first.

The menu at the left 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 Events.

    It lists the events and facts for that person.

  3. Choose Notes.

    It shows the notes for that person.

  4. Choose Family tree.

    It draws a tree. Older manuals call it a pedigree.

  5. Choose + at the top right.

    A sheet named Add a record lists what you can add.

The other menu items are for later. To go back one screen, choose the back arrow.

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.

  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. Open Workspaces.
  2. On the card for your tree, choose Save as….

    A small sheet opens. It asks how to save your tree.

  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 your tree as a family tree file, without pictures. Use it only for a program that cannot read GEDZIP. If asked which version, choose GEDCOM 7 unless that program is old.
  4. In the Save panel, choose a folder you will remember, then choose Save.

You now have a copy. Make a new one after you add a lot. Keep one on another drive too.

If you opened a file from another program, uFTi saves your changes to that file. To leave the original alone, open a copy.

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.

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 computer, uFTi works on the file you open, so make a copy first if you want the original left alone.

When you open a family tree file, uFTi works on that file. It does not make a copy for itself. It saves each change to the file you opened.

Leave the original alone

The file you open changes as you work. If you want the original left alone, work on a copy. Make the copy before you change anything. Then open the copy, and keep the original safe.

Make a copy

Choose Save as… on the card for your tree. uFTi asks how to save it, and where to put it, and then tells you where it went. Choose the GEDZIP file, unless you need a plain family tree file for an older program.

A copy made this way is a saved copy. It is a file of its own, and it stays as it was when you made it. uFTi does not move you to the copy. It keeps working on the file you opened. To work on the copy, open it.

Files beside your tree

uFTi also keeps other files beside your tree. It keeps a backup, an older copy of your tree, and makes it for you. Files beside your tree says what each one is.

Sending your tree

Send a GEDZIP copy that you saved, and not one of the other files. Which file to send says why.

Open a family tree file

Bring a tree from another program, or a copy from a relative, into uFTi.

A family tree file ends in .ged or .gdz. uFTi also opens a .zip that holds one. Read Opened files and copies first if the file is the only copy you have.

  1. On Workspaces, choose Add from file….

    The Windows window for opening a file appears.

  2. Choose the file, then choose Open.

    A summary appears. Its title is the name of the tree, written as its card writes it. The summary counts the people, families, events and sources in the file. It says how many pictures there are, and if the file holds anything that uFTi cannot show. uFTi keeps that as it is. The summary also says that your changes are saved to this file.

  3. Choose OK.

    The tree has a card on Workspaces. The card is marked Active.

The cards sit side by side. Choose a card to make that tree the open one. Choose Show details on a card to see which file it is.

If you open a second file with the same name, the card and the summary both add (2) to the name.

Next: Keep it safe.

Remove a tree from the list

Take a tree off the Workspaces screen without deleting its file.

  1. On Workspaces, find the card of the tree.
  2. Choose Remove on that card.

    A box named Remove workspace asks you to check. It says the family tree file on disk is not deleted.

  3. Choose Remove in the box, or Cancel to stop.

The card is gone. The file is still in its folder. Open it again with Add from file… at any time.

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, 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 attach it to an email or put it in a shared folder. 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 files beside your tree

Do not send the files that uFTi keeps beside your tree. The backup is an old version of your tree. Sending it sends an old tree. Files beside your tree says what each file is.

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

Files beside your tree

The files you may see beside your tree: the tree itself and its backup.

When you open a family tree file, you may see more files beside it. uFTi makes the extra files for you. You do not need to open them or change them.

Table 1. The files you may see beside your tree
File What it is Send it to family?
Your tree, such as Brontë family.ged The file you opened. uFTi saves your changes to it. Send a GEDZIP copy instead.
The backup. Its name is the name of your tree, with the word backup, the date and the time added in brackets. An older copy of your tree. uFTi makes one the first time it saves after you start the app. No. It is an old version.

You may see more than one backup, because uFTi makes a new one each time you start the app and save. A backup is a family tree file too, so you can open one if you need your older tree.

A GEDZIP file, which ends in .gdz, holds the whole workspace in one file. It is the file to keep and to send. If you open a GEDZIP file, uFTi works on that file, and its backup is a GEDZIP file too.

Your tree may also link to pictures and other files. They are separate files, and a GEDZIP file holds them with the tree. Your workspace and its files says more.

To make the copy that you send, choose Save as… on the card for your tree. Which file to send says more.

backup

An older copy of your family tree file, which the app makes for you. It is made the first time the app saves after you start it.

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

B

backup

An older copy of your family tree file, which the app makes for you. It is made the first time the app saves after you start it.

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.