Family Tree Maker help: problems, and how to fix them

The blue match icon, how to sign in, and why FamilySearch is a search rather than a sync.

Empty results and a missing category list have a known cause and a two-click workaround.

Rejected credentials, or endless sign-in prompts that never stick between sessions.

The sync wheel spins forever, or stops partway with an error. Usually a stale link between FTM and Ancestry.

TreeVault is a separate paid service from Ancestry sync. The two get confused constantly.

Seven routes still exist when you have no backup, including copies most people forget they have.

Four faults get mistaken for corruption, and the repairs for real corruption lose data. Check first.

Opens empty, or missing from the list entirely. Seven places to look, in order of likelihood.

FTM reports a problem it can't repair itself. There's a built-in routine most people never find.

Twice-yearly maintenance that prevents slow decay, stalled syncs and mysterious crashes.

Including the media checkbox almost everybody misses, and where the backup should actually live.

How to restore without overwriting the file you still need, and how to check it worked.

Your images are still on the computer. FTM has lost the path after a move or rename.

Thumbnails blank or grey even though the file opens fine elsewhere. Usually a format or cache issue.

The warning signs of a support scam, and how to check any service before it touches your computer.

Look up the exact wording on your screen and go straight to the guide that fixes it.

Closing itself mid-session is a different fault from failing to start. What triggers it and the fix order.

Nothing happens on launch, or it closes immediately. Usually a failed update or an OS version gap.

Ten thousand people and everything crawls. What actually helps, and what makes no difference.

The exact default folder on Windows and Mac, and the three things that live together as one tree.

Your tree, your photos and your Ancestry link all have to travel. Copying the file alone moves one of the three.

A one-time licence rather than a subscription, plus what TreeVault and Ancestry sync add on top.

FTM 2024 runs on macOS Tahoe. FTM 2017 will not install at all. Your options either way.

The two legitimate sources, and what the "free download for PC" sites actually distribute.

The common codes decoded, with the fix for each rather than a generic "try again".

Share one line with a cousin without handing over your whole tree, with living relatives protected.

What the question mark means, the five resolve options, and when a suggestion rewrites your source.

Six kinds of note, and only one reaches Ancestry. The other five live on your computer alone.

Five built-in checks that surface lost media, unlinked sources and contradictory dates. Exact menu paths.

Ancestry has no merge button. The route that works runs through Family Tree Maker, and the cleanup it needs.

Find every duplicate and merge safely, without losing sources or attached media in the process.

Adopted, step, foster and biological links, recorded correctly so charts come out right.

Pedigree, descendant, fan or hourglass: which to use, and how many generations fit on a page.

Cut off at the edges, blank pages, or a poster that won't fit. Layout settings that actually matter.