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Sharing my Tree with Friends and Family

Published 02/11/2002 03:00 AM   |    Updated 07/06/2015 02:41 PM   |    Answer ID 493
How can I share my tree with friends and family?

The instructions in this article pertain to our New Ancestry experience. If you are not yet using this experience and would like to switch, please click here for instructions.

You can share your tree with friends and family by sending them an invitation, which provides a link to your Ancestry Member Tree. These invitations can be sent using their email address, Ancestry username or by sending invites to people in your email contact list.

In order for your friends or family members to view your tree, they must already have an Ancestry account, whether it be a paid membership or a registered guest account. If they do not have an account, they can sign up for a free registered guest account. The invitation you create and send will provide a link to the sign up page. All that's required is their first name, last name, and an email address.

This article discusses the following:


Sending invitations using an Email or Ancestry Username

  1. Hover your mouse over the TREES tab and select the tree you would like to share from the drop-down list.

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  2. Click the Tree pages link, located directly beneath the main navigation bar and to the right of the family tree name. Select Share your tree from the drop-down list.

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  3. The Invite to Family Tree window will appear. You will have two options for sharing your tree: EMAIL or USERNAME.

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  4. Input the Email or Username of the person that you would like to send the invitation too, into the applicable field.

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    Note: If you have multiple trees, then you can invite the same members you've invited to other trees with their username by selecting the Invite members you've invited to other trees bubble. You can choose the individual(s) from the All members invited drop-down list or manually input their names into the middle field.

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  5. You can invite multiple individuals at once by clicking the green ADD ANOTHER USER button and following the same steps that you used to create the first invite.

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  6. Select the Role drop-down list to assign the invitee one of the following levels of access:

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    • Guest: This role provides the invitee with the ability to view and add comments to your tree. They will not be able to view living people. Click here for instructions on how to change their status so that they can view living people.
    • Contributor: This role provides the invitee with viewing rights to your tree. Additionally, they can add comments, photos and stories. They cannot remove content, edit existing tree content or view living people. Click here for instructions on how to change their status so that they can view living people.
    • Editor: This role provides the invitee with viewing rights, the ability to add comments, photos and stories. They also have the ability to edit your tree, such as removing and editing existing content.
  7. If you would like to send a personal message with your invite, click the Include personal message field.

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  8. When you are ready to send, click the orange SEND INVITES button.

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    Note: Each individual will receive an email with instructions to access the Tree. If they already have an Ancestry account and are logged in, the link in the invitation will take them directly to your tree. If they do not have an account, the link will take them directly to the sign up page, where they can quickly obtain a free registered guest account. To view your tree they are required to have an Ancestry account so that a link to your tree can be placed into their account. Creating a username on Ancestry is free and they will not need to purchase a subscription.

  9. Once they accept your invitation, your tree will appear in the TREES section of their account.

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  10. The tree will also be accessible by selecting Create & Manage Trees from the drop-down list and clicking the TREES SHARED WITH ME tab on the following page.

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If your invitation was never received

Some email providers have modified their email settings to only accept what they perceive as trusted emails. It is possible that your invitation was inadvertently routed to the invitees' Junk or Spam mail folder. Please have them check those folders.

If they continue experiencing problems receiving your invitation, you may want to suggest they sign up for a free Gmail, Hotmail, or Yahoo Mail account, and send the invitation there. Users of these accounts typically have had fewer problems receiving tree invitations.


Changing, removing, or re-inviting people to your tree

After inviting people to view your tree on Ancestry you can edit their viewing rights, remove the invitation, or re-invite individuals. Please click here for instructions on how to manage your invitees.

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