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RootsMagic for TMG Users

The Master Genealogist (TMG) was discontinued in 2014. RootsMagic imports TMG projects directly, keeping what a GEDCOM file loses: witnesses with their roles, source templates, and sentence templates. It runs on Windows and Mac, and the free edition, RootsMagic Essentials, imports TMG too.

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Two ways to bring your tree over

Import your TMG project

RootsMagic reads your TMG project directly. Names, events, notes, and media come over, along with witnesses and their roles, source templates, and sentence templates.

Use a GEDCOM file

GEDCOM works too, but TMG leaves out witnesses, roles, source templates, and more when it exports to GEDCOM. The direct import is the better choice.

RootsMagic 12’s Import from Another Program list, with The Master Genealogist (TMG), versions 1-10, outlined
On the File page, choose Import from Another Program, then The Master Genealogist (TMG).

What you'll find in RootsMagic

  • Shared facts for witnesses, with roles and their own sentences
  • Sentence templates and source templates you can customize
  • Source templates based on Evidence Explained (4th edition), with suggestions as you type
  • FamilySearch Certified and works with Ancestry, with TreeShare sync and Ancestry hints in the full version
  • 100+ reports and charts, plus books and wall charts as large as you need
  • Problem alerts and Problem Search to catch mistakes
  • Windows and Mac, and it can run from a USB flash drive
  • Yours to keep: no subscription, free updates to RootsMagic 12, and personal technical support

The TMG import guide

TMG and RootsMagic store family history in very different ways, so no import can be perfect, and you should expect some cleanup. The best approach is to import, check the result, fix what you can in TMG, and import again. This guide walks you through it.

Before you import (in TMG)

  • Use TMG 7.04 or later (for version 8, 8.08 or later). The import was tested with TMG 7.04 and 9.03.
  • Use TMG Utility to export any "internal" media items to "external" media items.
  • Make sure the project uses "Custom" source categories (Preferences > Current Project Options > Other).
  • Copy the repository Name-Other field, which isn't imported, to the Addressee field (if it's empty) or the Memo field.
  • Run TMG's maintenance routines: optimize, validate file integrity, then optimize again.
  • Close the project in every program before you import it.

After your final import (in RootsMagic)

  • Check the roles and sentences added to the standard RootsMagic fact types.
  • Check your custom fact types, with their roles and sentences.
  • Check and edit any local sentences.
  • Check the imported source templates, and edit them as needed.
  • Check your sources, and edit them as needed.
  • Check your repositories. The county is added to the city field.

What comes over differently

  • Tags with one or two principals. A TMG tag can have one or two principals. RootsMagic has individual facts (one principal) and family facts (two). A tag used with one principal becomes an individual fact. A tag used with two principals who are married, or are the parents of children, becomes a family fact.
  • Marriage and divorce tags always become family facts, whether they have one principal or two.
  • Two principals who aren't spouses. The second principal becomes a witness with the role "Principal2", and the tag becomes an individual fact.
  • Principal roles. RootsMagic uses only the Principal role for principals. If you used other roles for principals in TMG, edit the fact types' Principal role, and any sentences that use a custom role variable for the principal.
  • History tags aren't imported, because they have no principal and aren't attached to a person or family.
  • Place details: latitude and longitude from a TMG place's detail data go into the place's Latitude and Longitude fields.
  • Sentence template fields that RootsMagic can't convert are removed if they don't affect the sentence (font fields, for example). If removing a field would break the sentence, such as a [PO] field in a fact without a second principal, it's left in place so you can find and fix it.
  • Source templates come over intact for every source. If you changed the template for one source in TMG, RootsMagic uses the global template for that source type.
  • DNA tests are imported, with the markers in the test's note.

If a source doesn't import correctly

The problem is usually in the TMG source: its source type and the fields on its Source Definition > General tab don't match. For example, a source of type Book (Compiled Records) imports with its data in the wrong fields, or missing. To fix it in TMG:

  1. Open the project, choose Tools > Master Source List, select the source, and click Edit.
  2. Click Source Type and choose a different type, such as Book (Authored).
  3. Click Source Type again and choose the original type, Book (Compiled Records).
  4. Correct any fields that are wrong. Fields in the selected source type start with an uppercase letter, and fields that aren't start with a lowercase letter.

Do this for every source with the problem, then import into RootsMagic again.

Try it with your own tree

Download RootsMagic Essentials free, import your TMG project, and see your tree in RootsMagic. When you're ready for more, the full version is a one-time purchase of $29.95.

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Questions from TMG users

Yes. RootsMagic imports TMG projects directly. The import was tested with TMG 7.04 and 9.03, and we recommend TMG 7.04 or later (for version 8, 8.08 or later).

Names, events, notes, and media, plus witnesses with their roles, source templates, and sentence templates. Some things come over a little differently, so read the import guide before your final import.

When TMG exports to GEDCOM, it leaves out witnesses, roles, source templates, and more. The direct import keeps them.

Yes. RootsMagic Essentials, the free edition, imports TMG projects directly too.

Yes. Copy your whole TMG project folder to your Mac and import it into RootsMagic there. RootsMagic runs on Windows and macOS with the same features. More about RootsMagic for Mac.

No. RootsMagic reads your TMG project and copies it into a new RootsMagic file, so you can fix things in TMG and import again as often as you like.

RootsMagic Essentials is free, with no time limit. The full version of RootsMagic is $29.95. It's yours to keep, with no subscription, and updates to RootsMagic 12 are free. When a new version comes out, upgrading is optional, and owners get a lower price.