Answers to the most common questions about AncestorPress Family Trees, organised by topic.

Display & Formatting #

Can I show or hide birth and death dates? #

Yes. Go to AP Family Trees → Options → Display and toggle the birth and death date settings. You can show full dates, year only, or hide them completely. Separate settings exist for birth and death dates.

Can I show approximate or partial dates? #

AncestorPress displays dates exactly as they appear in your member records. If you enter circa 1845 or Abt 1845 that text displays as entered. GEDCOM approximate date qualifiers (ABT, BEF, AFT, BET) are imported and displayed as text.

Can I hide dates for living people? #

Yes. In AP Family Trees → Options → Display, enable the Show dates for living people toggle to hide dates for members marked as living. This is recommended for any tree visible to the public.

Can I show pictures in my tree? #

Yes, on Pro and Pro Plus plans. Set a featured image on a member post and it appears as a thumbnail on the tree node and on the member profile page. Photo support is not available on the free plan.

Can I change the connecting lines to dashes or dots? #

Yes. In AP Family Trees → Options → Appearance (Pro Plus), set the Line Style to solid, dashed, or dotted. You can also set line colour and weight.

Can I display multiple families on my site? #

Yes, on Pro and Pro Plus plans. Each family is a separate Family Group. Create multiple Family Groups, import or enter data into each, and use separate chart shortcodes with the appropriate Family Group ID for each tree. The free plan supports one Family Group.

Charts #

Can I show everyone in my tree on one chart? #

The number of generations displayed is set in the Chart Settings (Generations field). Set this high enough to capture your full tree. On the free plan up to 200 members are shown. For very large trees the Compact Text chart type is more readable than graphical charts.

Can I show my ancestors going back from myself? #

Yes. Create a Chart post and set the Chart Type to Ancestor Horizontal or Pedigree. Set yourself (or any living person) as the Root Person. The chart displays ancestors going back from that person.

Can I show both ancestors and descendants of one person? #

Yes. Use the Hourglass chart type. Set the person you want at the centre as the Root Person. Ancestors appear above and descendants below.

Can I show the families of two spouses together? #

Yes. Create a Family record linking both spouses via AP Family Trees → Add Family. When either spouse appears in the tree their shared family shows. The Chart Settings include an option to show only the primary family or all families for members with multiple marriages.

Can I show different branches of my family on separate pages? #

Yes. Create separate Chart posts with different Root Persons. Each chart has its own shortcode — embed them on separate pages to show different family lines from the same data.

My chart says "Building chart..." and never loads #

This is usually a JavaScript conflict with another plugin or theme. Try deactivating other plugins one at a time to identify the conflict. Also check your browser console (F12) for JavaScript errors and include these in your support ticket if the issue persists.

Importing & Exporting #

What format does my import file need to be? #

GEDCOM format with a .ged file extension. GEDCOM 5.5 and 5.5.1 are supported. The file must use UTF-8 character encoding. Maximum file size is 10MB.

My import completed but no members appeared — what happened? #

Almost always a character encoding issue. Re-export your GEDCOM from your genealogy software and explicitly select UTF-8 as the character encoding. Reunion for Mac users must select GEDCOM 5.5 with UTF-8 specifically — Reunion's default encoding causes this problem. See Importing from GEDCOM for software-specific instructions.

My import only brought in 200 members but my tree is larger #

The free plan limits imports to 200 members. Upgrade to Pro or Pro for unlimited members. See Free vs Paid Plans.

Can I import data without overwriting my existing members? #

Importing creates new member records — it does not check for duplicates. If you import the same GEDCOM twice you will get duplicate members. Import once, then edit members manually if corrections are needed.

Can I export my tree as a GEDCOM? #

Yes, on Pro and Pro Plus plans. Go to AP Family Trees → Export, select the Family Group, and click Export GEDCOM. The export includes all members and relationships but not photos or custom field data. See Exporting Your Data.

Technical Issues #

My tree isn't displaying on the page — I just see a blank area or shortcode text #

First, go to Settings → Permalinks and click Save Changes without changing anything. This is the most common fix. Also confirm the shortcode uses the correct Chart ID or Family Group ID. If you are seeing the raw shortcode text, your theme or page builder may not be processing shortcodes — use a Gutenberg Shortcode block instead of pasting into text.

The plugin menu disappeared after an update #

Deactivate and reactivate the plugin. If the menu still does not appear, go to Settings → Permalinks → Save Changes. If the issue persists, check that your server still meets the requirements (WordPress 6.0+, PHP 8.0+).

The plugin stopped working after I installed another plugin #

A plugin conflict is likely. Deactivate all other plugins and test whether AncestorPress works. Re-activate plugins one at a time to identify which causes the conflict. Report the conflicting plugin name in your support ticket.

I'm getting a white screen or fatal error after activation #

Your server is likely running PHP below 8.0. Check your PHP version in Tools → Site Health → Info → Server and upgrade if needed. If you have access to the WordPress error log, check it for the specific error message and include it in your support ticket.

The chart loads slowly on large trees #

Graphical charts with many generations and members are naturally more demanding to render. Try reducing the Generations setting in the Chart post. For very large trees, the Compact Text chart type loads significantly faster than graphical chart types. If performance is critical, consider displaying a smaller chart on the main page and linking to a full tree page.

Still need help? #

If your question is not answered here, check the detailed documentation articles or submit a support ticket. Free plan users can also get help via the WordPress.org support forum.