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uFTi Quick Start: Windows

Oughtibridge Ltd

  • Status: Beta

© 2026 Oughtibridge Ltd

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

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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

Download uFTi, install it and open it for the first time.

A workspace is one family tree.

  1. Download the installer from the Get uFTi page on the uFTi website.
  2. Run the installer.
  3. Open uFTi from the Start menu.

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

    The New workspace window, with Brontë family of Haworth typed as the name and the Create and Cancel buttons below
  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.

The New person form filled in for Patrick Brontë, with his sex, his birth and death dates and the places of both

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.

Patrick Brontë's page, with the menu at the left, his dates and places, and a small chip beside Birth that counts one source

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.

The Add source form, with the title of a book typed in the Title box

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 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 your tree as a family tree file, without pictures. Use it only for a program that cannot read GEDZIP.
    The Save workspace as choice, with a GEDCOM file, a GEDZIP archive that includes media, and a Cancel button
  4. If you chose GEDCOM file (.ged), choose a version.

    The box named Which version of GEDCOM? offers GEDCOM 7 (recommended) and GEDCOM 5.5.1 (for older programs). Choose the first unless a program you use is old.

    The question Which version of GEDCOM, with GEDCOM 7 marked as recommended, GEDCOM 5.5.1 for older programs, and a Cancel button
  5. When Windows asks where to put the file, choose a folder you will remember.

    Windows opens your Documents folder first. Choose the folder you want, then choose Save.

    A message names the file and its folder. It stays until you choose it.

    The Workspaces screen after a copy is saved, with a dark message at the bottom that names the file, Brontë family of Haworth.ged, and the folder, Family trees, and says which version of GEDCOM it was written as

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.

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.