RootsMagic / Ancestry -- My Plans

RootsMagic released their long awaited update today that will allow sharing of data between RootsMagic and Ancestry.

I was fortunate to have been a Beta tester. That allowed me to do a lot of experimentation and think thru exactly how I will implement these new features.

Thanks to the early release of some of the details about how tree sharing would work, I had already decided to UPLOAD my tree from RootsMagic to Ancestry. From my playing around, I made some additional decisions about my RootsMagic data:

• Trim the tree -- Over the years, I had researched spouses of nieces and nephews in order to build a family history for a new baby. I archived a copy of my tree and then removed these branches so that I wouldn't inadvertently upload details about living individuals.
• Private Facts -- I had information regarding my DNA matches in my tree. I made these facts private and elected to not include private facts in my upload.
• Media -- I ultimately decided to NOT upload any media. First, I didn't want all of the photos in my RootsMagic tree uploaded to Ancestry. Second, I didn't want birth certificates and marriage licenses uploaded for anyone living. Thirdly, I didn't want to wait for them all to upload.

With the new release, I have uploaded my tree to Ancestry. I have watched the video (several times) and printed (and skimmed) the FAQ [scroll down on page and look for link to Magic-Guide: WebHints and TreeShare for Ancestry]. After working with a great-grandfather, I have concluded that I will likely be a ONE-WAY TreeShare user -- sending information UP.

• Images - I will continue to use the option to 'Save to Your Computer' so that I can control where images are saved and how images are named. This will make it easier to attach the image to the fact.
• Sources - I would prefer to craft my own citations versus using the downloaded citation
• Duplication - My experience during beta testing indicated that a source attached to multiple facts would get downloaded multiple times. 

So - some might ask why not continue using Ancestry as I had in the past. My response would be that I will continue most of my current practices. At the same time, Ancestry TreeShare and WebHints will allow me to

• Push up sources that I've found outside of Ancestry
• Push up individuals I've added to my tree
• Use the WebHints for Ancestry in the same way I already use them with FamilySearch 

Getting rid of the yellow shading on the light bulb will provide an excellent opportunity to work thru my tree and review my data while learning how to use this new feature.

Thank you to everyone that helped make this possible!