When you go to the Tree Download pages you will find that you have a choice of two types of file:
- Portable Document Format or PDF files (.pdf), or
- TreeDraw files (.tdr)
PDF Files
PDF files are the first choice for most people. If your browser does not display the pdf file well (MS Edge does not cope with larger tree files) simply save it as a pdf file and then use your Acrobat viewer in the usual way. PDF format trees are fully searchable.
TreeDraw Files
If you want to draw your own trees then you might be interested in SpanSoft's TreeDraw. I have used TreeDraw to produce my trees for as long as I have been writing this website i.e. since at least 2002. It does an excellent job.
A free Viewer is available for download from SpanSoft's website at www.spansoft.org - (click on the 'Downloads' link when you get there). You can also use the Viewer to print trees.
If you save your downloaded TreeDraw (.tdr) files in a suitable folder TreeDraw Viewer 'learns' where they are and clicking on the folder icon in Viewer provides you with a list of the available files. You can navigate around the tree with the aid of the 'chart view control' but it is just as easy to click and hold down the right mouse button and then drag the tree in whichever direction you wish. You can search the tree for a particular person and you can also print trees using the TreeDraw Viewer.
If you have the TreeDraw Viewer running while browsing then you have the option to select 'open' in the download window and you should then see an immediate display of the tree. Otherwise save to file and you will then have the option of looking at the tree offline as often as you like.
Some people have experienced problems when downloading the FREE TreeDraw VIEWER. They have ended up with the trial version of the TreeDraw application.
To get the VIEWER follow this procedure:
- Go to the Spansoft website;
- Click on Downloads in the left hand column (ignore the TreeDraw icon in the centre of the screen);
- Scroll down to the Utilities section;
- Click on Download TreeDraw Viewer V4 (4MB).
EMF Files
At one time I offered trees in the form of an EMF file. An EMF file is an old Windows format which is not recognised by modern browsers so all .emf files have been deleted.
