I don't have a FamilySearch account. Can I still use RootsMapper?
Why aren't my parents being plotted?
How much does it cost to use this service?
What do the numbers mean in the pins?
What do the pin colors mean?
What do the line colors mean?
How do I map an individual line?
How many generations can I map?
Why are some pins in the wrong location?
Why aren't some of my ancestors plotting?
Why is X, Y or Z wrong with my tree?
How can I save my map for later viewing?
How do I set a new root person?
Q: What browsers are supported?
A: For the best experience (or if the site misbehaves) use Google Chrome. Firefox, Internet Explorer 10+ and Safari 6.1.5+ (Mac OS X 10.7+) are also supported. Internet Explorer 9 and below are not supported.
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Q: I don't have a FamilySearch account. Can I still use RootsMapper?
A: Unfortunately, no, this service requires a FamilySearch account. You can create an account for free at https://familysearch.org/register/.
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Q: Why aren't my parents being plotted?
A: They probably are, but if they are alive, they may not have their birth location entered in FamilySearch.org. This is a privacy protection. Because they don't have a birth location entered, they are plotted on top of your pin. If you login to FamilySearch.org and enter birth locations for them, they will be plotted. It may take a few minutes for the data to go through.
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Q: How much does it cost to use this service?
A: Nothing! It's free. Feel free to donate. :)
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Q: What do the numbers mean in the pins?
A: The pin number represents the number of generations between that person and the root person.
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Q: What do the pin colors mean?
A: The pin color represents the gender of that person. Females have pink pins and males have blue pins. When the Traceback option is enabled in the Map Options, the pins from the root person to the highlighted person will become yellow so that you can trace the line.
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Q: What do the line colors mean?
A: The blue lines represent the paternal ancestors of the root person and the pink lines represent the maternal ancestors of the root person. When the Traceback option is enabled in the Map Options, the lines connecting highlighted yellow pins turn black to aid in tracing the connection between the root person and the selected person.
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Q: How do I map an individual line?
A: Run one generation, then click the expand button in the lower right corner of the info card on the parents to expand them back as far as you like. You can also use the Pedigree chart on the left to expand additional generations by clicking the [+] buttons
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Q: How many generations can I map?
A: You can automatically map up to 10 generations from the root person of your choosing. You can then manually expand individuals back to 32 generations by clicking on the pin of each individual and clicking the expand button in the lower right corner of the info card.
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Q: Why are some pins in the wrong location?
A: This blog post gives the answer and explains how to correct this.
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Q: Why aren't some of my ancestors plotting?
A: When data is lacking for a particular ancestor, they are plotted in the same location as the most recently located descendant.
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Q: Why is X, Y or Z wrong with my tree?
A: In most cases, issues that are being shown are due to errors in the data on FamilySearch.org. First check there to see if it is entered wrong or is not standardized in FamilySearch.org. If not, send us some feedback and let us know.
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Q: How can I save my map for later viewing?
A: Currently the best solution is to get the map looking just the way you want it and then take a screen shot. Screenshot methods vary by device so Google is your friend :) You can also use the print dialog from your web browser to print the map or save it to PDF.
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Q: How do I set a new root person?
A: There are two ways to change who the root person is. The first way is to click on your Person ID in the upper left corner and replace it with a different Person ID. The second way is when you have a person's detail card up, you can set them as the root person by clicking the little Copy icon
next to their Person ID. This will place their Person ID into the field in the upper left corner automatically.Back to top