Many genealogy researchers look for ways to convert family history information from an Excel spreadsheet to a Gedcom file for use in their genealogy software. This series of short tutorials is aimed at helping family historian researchers overcome the basics of Excel to Gedcom conversion through some simple programming steps. A Visual Basic programming environment exists behind Microsoft Excel and with some simple tuition any user can create powerful results.
Genealogy information which has been copied from an online Internet database or other source can be quickly converted from Excel to a Gedcom file. The background of these tutorials uses Rootsmagic Genealogy Software but could also be easily tailored to be compatible with other family tree software like Legacy Family Tree or Family Tree Maker.
I have been converting Excel spreadsheet information to Gedcom files for several years now. Getting started might take a little time but once competent the speed of collecting genealogy information for your valuable family history research will go into top gear. Using automated methods of Excel to Gedcom conversion also greatly reduces the possibility of variations in the input formats of your genealogy information. Preparing information in a spreadsheet format before converting to Gedcom helps you visually standardize the format of the information. In the future this will help the family history researcher reduce duplication caused by variations in text input and, I would hope, strengthen standards.
