Editing GEDCOM (section)

{{short description|Specification for genealogical data}}
{{Infobox file format
| name          = GEDCOM
| icon          = 
| logo          = 
| screenshot    = 
| caption       = 
| extension     = {{code|.ged}}
| mime          = application/vnd.familysearch.gedcom <ref name= GordonClarke>{{cite web |last= Clarke |first= Gordon |title= Media subtype name: vnd.familysearch.gedcom+zip |date= 2021-12-07 |accessdate= 2022-10-01 |website= [[Internet Assigned Numbers Authority]] |url= https://www.iana.org/assignments/media-types/application/vnd.familysearch.gedcom+zip}}</ref> application/vnd.familysearch.gedcom+zip <ref name= GordonClarke/>
| type code     = 
| uniform type  = 
| magic         = 
| owner         = [[Genealogical Society of Utah|LDS FHD]]
| released      = {{Start date and age|1984}}
| latest release version = 7.0.16
| latest release date = {{Start date and age|2025|03|18|df=yes/no}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Releases · FamilySearch/GEDCOM |url=https://github.com/FamilySearch/GEDCOM/releases |website=GitHub |access-date=21 April 2025|language=en}}</ref>
| genre         = [[Genealogy]] data exchange
| container for = 
| contained by  = 
| extended from = 
| extended to   = 
| standard      = [[Defacto#Standards|De facto]]<ref name="defacto">[http://listserv.nodak.edu/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind9601D&L=GEDCOM-L&P=R1252&D=0&H=0&I=-3&O=T&T=0&m=904 Subject: GEDCOM and Formal Standards Organizations] Date: Wed, 24 Jan 1996 11:53:52 -0700 From: Bill Harten – Organization: Brigham Young University "why wasn't GEDCOM developed through a formal standards organization?..."Thus GEDCOM was born as a deliberate, de facto standard, to be followed only by those who felt it was in their best interest to do so.</ref>
| free          = no{{efn|"GEDCOM" is a trademark of Intellectual Reserve, Inc. but the standard itself uses the Apache 2.0 License.}}
| open          = yes
| url           = {{URL|https://gedcom.io}}<br />{{URL|https://github.com/familysearch/GEDCOM}}
}}

'''FamilySearch GEDCOM''', or simply '''GEDCOM''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|dʒ|ɛ|d|k|ɒ|m}} {{respell|JED|kom}}, [[acronym]] of ''Genealogical Data Communication''), is an [[open format|open file format]] and the [[de facto standard]] specification for storing [[genealogy|genealogical]] data.<ref name="defacto" /> It was developed by [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church), the operators of [[FamilySearch]], to aid in the research and sharing of genealogical information.<ref>[http://listserv.nodak.edu/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind9509e&L=gedcom-l&T=0&I=-3&P=655 Subject: rep: T Jenkins – open letter to GEDCOM-L] – "The goal was to try and provide a standard to allow developers to provide a vehicle for their users to share genealogical conclusions and supporting evidence with others." From: "Jed R. Allen" Brigham Young University – Date: 29 Sep 1995 17:40:04 -0600 – GEDCOM-L Archives – September 1995, week 5 (#7)</ref> A common usage is as a standard format for the backup and transfer of [[family tree]] data between different [[genealogy software]] and [[genealogy websites|websites]], most of which support importing from and exporting to GEDCOM format.<ref>{{cite web |date=March 2005 |title=Genealogical Software Report Card |url=http://www.mumford.ca/reportcard/index.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211172052/http://mumford.ca/reportcard/index.htm |archive-date=2009-02-11}}</ref>

GEDCOM is defined as a [[text encoding|plain text]] file, using [[UTF-8]] encoding as of version 7.0. This file contains genealogical information about individuals such as names, events, and relationships; [[metadata]] links these records together.

GEDCOM 7.0, released in 2021, is the most recent version of the GEDCOM specification {{As of|July 2024|lc=y}}.<ref name=specV7>{{cite web |title=The FamilySearch GEDCOM Specification |url=https://gedcom.io/specifications/FamilySearchGEDCOMv7.html |website=gedcom.io |access-date=10 July 2024 |language=en |date=8 February 2024}}</ref> However, its predecessor, GEDCOM 5.5.1, remains the industry's format standard for the exchange of genealogical data.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}} First released as a draft standard in 1999, GEDCOM 5.5.1 received only minor updates in the subsequent 20 years leading up to the release of 5.5.1 final in 2019. To address its shortcomings, some genealogy programs introduced [[Proprietary file format|proprietary]] extensions to GEDCOM which are not always recognized by other programs, such as GEDCOM 5.5 EL (Extended Locations).<ref>[http://wiki-en.genealogy.net/Gedcom_5.5EL GEDCOM 5.5 EL] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200111114712/http://wiki-en.genealogy.net/Gedcom_5.5EL |date=2020-01-11 }} (Extended Locations) specification</ref><ref>[http://www.fhug.org.uk/wishlist/wldisplay.php?currentpage=2&wlwlref=249 Ability to save information against places] – "Support for parts of the GEDCOM 5.5EL proposal" –  FHUG Wish List</ref><ref>[http://bugs.gramps-project.org/view.php?id=688 0000688: Support for Gedcom 5.5EL] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726125916/http://bugs.gramps-project.org/view.php?id=688 |date=2011-07-26 }} – Gramps Bugtracker</ref> Efforts have been made to have 7.0 more widely adopted since its release. [[FamilySearch]] intends to be GEDCOM 7.0 compatible in the third quarter 2022 and [[Ancestry.com]] is planning for 7.0 compatibility, but has not yet specified an implementation date.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}