Free book preview
Your family tree file, as a hardcover family history book
Choose the GEDCOM file from your family tree program. Kinvolume lays out a page for every person, with family groups, a descendant chart and an index, and you preview the book free in your browser.
- Preview is free
- Your file is read in your browser, not uploaded
- Printed copies: coming soon (planned: 8.5 x 11 in hardcover, Black & white $49, Colour $69, US shipping)
Sample: a fictional family
Free preview
Turn your GEDCOM file into a book preview
Choose your file, pick who the book starts from, and see the pages and the estimated page count.
or drop the file here
Your file is read in your browser. The file itself is not uploaded.
Sample This is a sample book with invented names. Choose your own GEDCOM file to see your book.
The book has 15 people, about 16 interior pages plus the cover. The preview shows 15 of its pages.
4 possibly living people are shown by name only.
The preview shows the cover, contents, the first ten person pages, a family group page, a chart page and an index page. Page numbers are the book's real page numbers. Type in the preview is simplified; a printed book will look slightly different.
Printed copies: coming soon
Want a printed copy? Hear when ordering opens.
Printed hardcover books are planned and not on sale yet. Leave your email address and we will write once, when they are available.
We use your email address only to tell you when printed books are available: one message, no marketing list. Nothing from your GEDCOM file is sent. Privacy
What's inside
A family history book, page by page
The same sample, drawn at book size. Dates sit in the outside margin; every relative carries a page number.
Cover with your surname
The family name on the front, set in cream on navy cloth.
Contents
Where the person pages, family groups, chart and index start.
A page for each person
Name, parents, spouses and children with page numbers; birth and death in the outside margin.
Family groups
Each couple with their children, birth and death years in a plain table.
Descendant charts
Boxes and connectors across as many pages as the family needs, with "continued on p." marks.
Index of names
Everyone listed by surname, with birth and death years and page numbers.
Sample: invented names
How it works
From your family tree program to a book
Export a GEDCOM file
In Ancestry, FamilySearch, MyHeritage, RootsMagic, Family Tree Maker, Gramps or another program, export your tree as a .ged file.
Preview the book free
Choose the file above. Pick a starting person and Descendants or Ancestors. Living people are shown by name only unless you turn that off.
Check the pages
Page through the preview, see the estimated page count, and save a marked preview PDF. Printed copies are coming soon.
Editions
Preview free. Printed hardcover coming soon.
The preview is free today. Printed books are not on sale yet; these are the planned editions.
Black & white
$49planned
- 8.5x11 inch hardcover
- Every page in black ink
- Shipped in the United States
Not on sale yet. Price and shipping area may change before ordering opens.
Colour
$69planned
- 8.5x11 inch hardcover
- The same pages, with rules and the starting person in colour
- Shipped in the United States
Not on sale yet. Price and shipping area may change before ordering opens.
Guides
Getting your GEDCOM file
Step-by-step help for exporting your tree, and how a family history book is put together.
FAQ
Questions about family tree books
Is my family tree uploaded to your server?
No. The page reads your GEDCOM file inside your browser and lays out the book there. The file and the people in it are not sent to us and are not stored. Reload the page and they are gone.
Which programs can I use?
Any program or website that can export a GEDCOM (.ged) file, such as Ancestry, FamilySearch, MyHeritage, RootsMagic, Family Tree Maker, Legacy and Gramps. The preview reads GEDCOM versions 5.5, 5.5.1 and 7.
How do I turn a GEDCOM file into a family tree book?
Export your tree from your family tree program as a GEDCOM (.ged) file, choose it on this page, pick the person the book starts from, and choose ancestors or descendants. Kinvolume lays out a cover, contents, a page for each person, family groups, a chart and an index, and shows you the estimated page count.
What is the difference between Ancestors and Descendants?
Ancestors makes a book about the starting person and their parents, grandparents and so on up the tree. Descendants makes a book about the starting person with their spouse, children and so on down. To make a book for a whole family, choose its oldest person and Descendants.
What happens to living people?
People with no death recorded who were born in the last 100 years, or who have no dates at all, are treated as possibly living. With "Hide details of living people" on, which is the default, they appear by name only: no dates or places, and no page of their own. The starting person always keeps a page.
How does family history book printing work?
Printed copies are coming soon, so you cannot order yet. The planned editions are an 8.5x11 inch hardcover in black and white for $49 and in colour for $69, shipped in the United States. Price and shipping area may change before ordering opens.
Can I save the preview?
Yes. "Download preview PDF" saves the preview pages as a PDF marked "PREVIEW" on every page. It holds the pages you see, not the whole book.
How many pages will my book have?
The preview estimates it from your file: a contents page, one page for each person, family groups, the chart and the index. A larger tree makes a thicker book. Limits on the size of a printed book will be confirmed before ordering opens.
Is Kinvolume part of Ancestry, FamilySearch or MyHeritage?
Kinvolume is an independent tool and is not affiliated with Ancestry, FamilySearch or MyHeritage. Those names are used only to say which GEDCOM files the preview can read.
See your research as a book.
Choose your GEDCOM file and preview the pages free. Printed copies are coming soon.