MacFamilyTree 11.3.2 Mac

MacFamilyTree is a Mac application for building, researching and viewing family trees, with the current version 11.3.2 focusing on stability improvements. A newcomer opening the app for the first time will find a few corners of the software that show what it can do without a steep climb.

Explore the interactive tree view

The most immediate thing to try is the interactive family tree view. It renders relationships as a visual chart you can drag, zoom and rearrange. Tap on any person to open their record, then switch between views to see the same data as a pedigree chart or a timeline. Everything stays local by default, so you can add a handful of relatives and experiment with the layout before deciding how far back to research.

Search genealogy portals from inside the app

Once a few names are entered, the built-in search becomes useful. MacFamilyTree can query FamilySearch genealogy records directly from the app, pulling in potential matches without leaving the workspace. The feature hooks into several genealogy portals, and any records you attach stay with the person’s entry. If privacy matters, people and records can be hidden from export, and the optional website feature published through MacFamilyTree.com supports password protection. Collaboration is available through CloudTree Sync & Share, which requires an iCloud account and keeps data encrypted when stored in iCloud.

Things to do in the first couple of days

Start with a small test tree before importing your main GEDCOM file. Throw in a dozen people you know well—parents, grandparents, a cousin—and play with the chart types. The fan chart gives a quick visual check that all connections are correct, while the hourglass chart shows ancestors and descendants of one person in a single view. If the diagram looks tangled, use the auto-layout button in the toolbar; it straightens out most messes without manual dragging.

Set the default place format early. Open preferences, pick the place style you want (town, county, state or the European equivalent), and MacFamilyTree will apply it consistently to new entries. This saves hours of cleanup later. While you are in preferences, turn on automatic backups. The app stores data locally by default, but a local backup schedule means a bad edit never costs you a week of research.

Try the map reports on your second day. The virtual globe chart plots every event with a location onto a 3D sphere you can spin, and the statistical maps chart shows event density by region. Both reveal gaps instantly—places where you have no records yet—and those gaps often turn into your next research questions.

Work offline for nearly everything

A question that comes up repeatedly is whether the app works without an internet connection. The answer is yes. Research, relationship entry, chart creation and report generation all run offline on your Mac. You only need a connection when you actively search FamilySearch or other linked genealogy portals, or when you use CloudTree Sync to share a tree with someone else. A second frequent question is about GEDCOM round-tripping. MacFamilyTree exports and imports GEDCOM 5.5.1 files cleanly, and the import dialog lets you preview what will come in before you commit. People moving from a Windows genealogy app often test this with a small subset first; the preview step catches encoding mismatches and missing media links before they become problems.

Another common worry is whether the 3D features demand a powerful Mac. The virtual globe and the 3D family tree view run on any Mac that meets the macOS 12 minimum, including older Intel machines, though they are smoother on Apple Silicon. The app does not require a dedicated graphics card.

Review merged people one pair at a time

The first snag many hit is a person appearing twice after a merge attempt. The merge tool is in the person’s context menu under “Find Duplicates,” but it does not auto-merge. You need to review the side-by-side comparison, choose which facts to keep, and confirm. If the merge button stays grayed out, check that both entries have the same gender—mismatched genders block the merge until corrected.

Syncing to an iPhone or iPad trips people up when they forget that CloudTree Sync needs an iCloud account signed in on both devices, and the same tree must be explicitly shared. Open the CloudTree panel on the Mac, right-click the tree, choose “Share,” and enter the Apple ID used on the mobile device. If MobileFamilyTree shows an empty list afterward, force-quit the mobile app and reopen it; the shared tree usually appears within a few seconds.

A less obvious snag involves the website feature. When the published site asks for a password but you never set one, the fix is in the sharing dialog: the password field is optional and easy to miss. Republish the site after setting or clearing it. Also, large media files slow down the first upload. Resize photos to 1200 pixels on the long edge before attaching them, and the site will build noticeably faster.

Version 11.3.2 of MacFamilyTree brings stability improvements, with no new features or interface changes listed.

• macOS 12 Monterey or later
• Intel and Apple Silicon Macs
• iCloud account required for syncing between devices