What people ask before they begin
Short, straight answers. For the full walk-through, see how it works.
Privacy and your data
Is my family information uploaded anywhere?
Your projects — names, dates, places, notes and photos — are saved in this browser’s own storage on your device, and nothing about your family is sent while you edit or preview.
When you press a download button, the names, dates and places in that project, your design choices and the photos shown on the design are sent to our download server. It makes the file, sends it straight back and does not save your project or photos. Notes stay on this device.
There is no account, and the site’s security policy stops the page from sending information to any other server.
Why are the files made on a server?
So large prints come out the same on every device. The download server draws PDF, SVG, PNG and JPG files with the bundled typefaces at the full resolution listed next to each button — something phones and small laptops often run out of memory for.
What happens if I clear my browser data?
Clearing this site’s data, or working in a private window, removes the projects stored in that browser. Export a project file from My projects to keep a backup you control.
Can I move a project to another computer?
Yes. Export the project from My projects — it becomes a single file containing your family and photos. Open that file in the studio on the other computer.
Importing a family
Can I bring my tree from a genealogy website or program?
Yes, if it can export a GEDCOM file (.ged). Most genealogy programs and many websites offer this in the tree’s settings. The studio never signs in to other websites on your behalf.
Which GEDCOM versions work?
GEDCOM 5.5.1, the version most programs export. The import review lists anything in the file that could not be used, so you always know what came across.
Are photos in my GEDCOM file imported?
Not from the file itself. The review tells you how many photo references were skipped, and you can add photos to each person in the studio.
Can I use a spreadsheet instead?
Yes. Use the CSV template (download it from How it works or the studio): one row per person, with columns for names, dates, places, parents and partners. Commas and line breaks inside quoted cells are handled.
Excel, Numbers and Google Sheets workbooks are not read directly — save or download the sheet as CSV first.
Can I import a PDF, photo or scan of a family tree I already have?
No. A PDF or picture of a chart only records how the tree looks, not who is whose parent or partner, and the studio cannot reliably recover those relationships from a drawing. Rather than guess, it tells you so when you choose such a file.
If the chart came from genealogy software or a family tree website, export a GEDCOM file there and import that. Otherwise, type the family in or fill in the CSV template — then pick any of the styles for a fresh design.
Can I change the style of a tree I imported?
Yes, as often as you like. Imported people, dates, relationships and photos stay exactly as they are; a style only changes paper, ink, type and ornament.
How many people can a project hold?
A project can hold up to 5,000 people. Each design then prints a chosen selection — for example up to 63 on an ancestor fan, or up to 100 across a reunion set — and the proof lists exactly who is included.
Every kind of family
Can I show adoption, step-parents or guardians?
Yes. Each parent link is recorded as biological, adoptive, step, guardian or foster, and a child can have more than one set of parents.
What about remarriage and same-sex couples?
A person can have several partnerships, each with its own children. Partnerships are gender-neutral, so every couple is laid out the same way.
We don’t know one of the parents. Is that a problem?
Not at all. Unknown stays unknown: nothing is guessed from surnames, gender or age.
Designs, files and printing
Is Family Tree Studio free?
Yes. Every design, every style and every download is currently free, with no account and no watermark on your files.
The download server has fair limits — on photo and request size, image resolution, and how many files it makes at once — so everyone gets their files. If it is busy, try again a moment later.
How many styles are there?
10. Timeless and Heritage are the classic choices; Modern, Monochrome and Scandinavian are clean and graphic; Botanical, Vintage, Art Deco, Photo Gallery and Reunion add their own printed ornament. All of them are shown side by side in the collections, and switching style never changes your family data.
Which files do I get?
A vector PDF at the exact size, an SVG, PNG and JPG images, and a print bundle ZIP with a proof sheet, the list of names and printing notes.
What size should I choose?
It depends on how many people are included and how far away it will be read. The studio measures the printed size of every name and warns you when a size is too small. The print guide has more detail.
Do you print and ship framed prints?
Not at the moment. You download print-ready files and print them wherever you like — at home for small sizes, or with any local or online print shop.
Can I change something after I have downloaded?
Yes. Reopen the project from My projects, make the change, and download fresh files.
Still deciding?
Browse the five designs and open the one that fits your family.