Family Tree Maker notes: which ones sync, and which do not
Family Tree Maker holds six separate kinds of note, and researchers routinely put the right note in the wrong place. One detail matters more than all the others: only person notes reach Ancestry. The other five live on your computer alone, which makes them invisible to a sync and absent from any recovery that starts with your online tree.
- Applies to
- FTM 2024 · 2019 · 2017
- Platform
- Windows & macOS
- Time
- ~8 min
Five of the six note types never leave your computer. Researchers who treat the Ancestry copy as their backup lose every research note, fact note and source note the day their local file fails. Only a local backup protects them.
The six kinds, side by side
| Note type | Attaches to | Syncs to Ancestry? |
|---|---|---|
| Person note | The individual | Yes, and only invited viewers see it |
| Research note | The individual | No |
| Fact note | One fact, such as a single birth entry | No |
| Relationship note | A link between two people | No |
| Media note | One photograph or document | No |
| Source citation note | One citation | No |
Read the right-hand column once more. Five rows say no. That single column explains why a researcher who rebuilds from an Ancestry download finds every name and date intact and every research note gone.
Person notes and research notes sit in the same place
These two cause the most confusion, because they live behind the same icon and look identical.
Select a person and find the Notes icon beneath their name in the right-hand panel.
Below that icon, buttons switch between the person note and the research note for the same individual.
Check which one you are typing into before you write anything long.
The distinction is worth keeping clean. A person note describes the individual: the biography, the family story, the summary you want a relative to read. A research note records your process: which registers you searched, which years you covered, and which candidates you ruled out.
Put the research process in a person note and it uploads to Ancestry, where it reads as biography. Put biography in a research note and nobody you share the tree with ever sees it.
Fact notes attach to one fact, not the person
A fact note explains a single entry rather than the whole individual. Use one to record why a birth date is uncertain, or which of two conflicting sources you preferred.
Select the fact in the list of individual and shared facts.
Click Options.
Choose Show Fact Notes and type the note there.
This is the note type people search for hardest, because nothing on the person screen suggests it exists.
Choosing the right one
| What you want to record | Use |
|---|---|
| A life story a relative will read | Person note |
| Registers searched and years covered | Research note |
| Why one date was chosen over another | Fact note |
| Why a parent link is uncertain | Relationship note |
| Where a photograph came from | Media note |
| The condition or legibility of a record | Source citation note |
Recording an uncertain parent link in a relationship note pairs well with setting the relationship type correctly, which is covered in the relationships guide.
Getting your notes back out
Notes stay hidden until you deliberately print them, and most researchers never do.
- The Research Note Report lists research notes with each person name and their birth and death dates. It doubles as a to-do list.
- Other reports carry a Notes panel where you choose to include person, fact, research and relationship notes together.
Print one occasionally. A note you cannot find is a note you did not write.
Your notes do not go to the online tree
This is the single most important thing to know about notes, and it surprises almost everyone. None of the six kinds sync. Research notes, person notes, fact notes, relationship notes, media notes and citation notes all stay in the file on your own computer. So does any formatting you applied to them.
Two consequences follow, and both matter more than they sound. Your online tree is not a backup of your notes, so a person who relies on syncing as their safety net has no copy of the thinking behind their research. And moving to a new computer by uploading and re-downloading the tree loses every note you have written. Move a proper backup instead.
Protecting the five that never sync
Because five note types exist only in your local file, the usual safety net does not cover them.
Back up locally, with media included. A backup is the only copy of your research notes that exists. See backing up a tree file.
Stop treating the Ancestry copy as a backup. It holds names, dates, sources and person notes. It holds none of the rest.
Export a Research Note Report to PDF once or twice a year and keep it with your backups. It survives independently of the tree file.
Frequently asked questions
How many types of notes does Family Tree Maker have?
Six: person, research, fact, relationship, media and source citation notes. Each one attaches to a different thing, and only person notes reach Ancestry.
Do Family Tree Maker notes sync to Ancestry?
Only person notes sync. Research, fact, relationship, media and source citation notes stay on your computer and never reach your online tree.
Where are person notes in Family Tree Maker?
Click the Notes icon beneath the person name in the right-hand panel. Buttons under that icon switch between the person note and the research note for the same individual.
What is the difference between a person note and a research note?
A person note describes the individual and syncs to Ancestry. A research note records what you searched, what you found and what you ruled out, and it stays on your computer.
How do I add a note to a single fact?
Select the fact in the list of individual and shared facts, click Options, then choose Show Fact Notes. The note attaches to that one fact rather than to the person.
Can I print my research notes?
Yes. The Research Note Report lists research notes alongside each person name with birth and death dates. Reports also let you include person, fact, research and relationship notes together.
Who can see my person notes on Ancestry?
Only people you invite to view your online tree. Person notes are not public, and the other five note types never leave your computer at all.
Lost notes after a restore?
We check whether an older backup still holds them before anything is rewritten. No fix, no fee.