Personal Ancestral File

From The Encyclopedia of Mormonism

See this page in the original 1992 publication.

Author: Mayfield, David M.

Personal Ancestral File is a genealogical software package produced by the Church for IBM-compatible, Macintosh, and Apple personal computers that enables users to organize, store, and search genealogical information; contribute genealogies to Ancestral File™; and match and merge information from other genealogical data bases with their own files.

The package consists of three major programs: Family Records, Research Data Filer, and Genealogical Information Exchange. The Family Records program enables users to assemble pedigrees; group families together, showing relationships between family members for each generation; search pedigree lines; add, modify, and delete information about individuals; and display information on the screen and print it on genealogical forms. Research Data Filer helps users manage original research, including searching, sorting, and printing information by event, place, date, name of person, or relationship to others. Genealogical Information Exchange enables users to send Family Records data to another Personal Ancestral File user, prepare diskette submissions of names for LDS temple ordinance processing or contribution to Ancestral File, and copy data from one diskette to another.