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Genealogy Fan Chart: Display and Print Your Family Tree in 7 Ways

The FamilySearch Family Tree provides an easy, free template for your family tree. Not only do you have four options for viewing your online family tree, but you can also print and display your genealogy fan chart in seven ways!

To view and print your fan chart, you need to have a family tree on FamilySearch.org. It is absolutely free to create an account and start your family tree.

You can find your fan chart by going to your family tree on FamilySearch.org and selecting Fan Chart from the menu in the top-left corner (or you can click here to go straight to the fan chart view).

The genealogy fan chart usually displays you as the central person. To start the fan chart with someone else on your tree, simply find that person on your fan chart, click the person’s name, and then click the Tree link in the box that appears.  

Different Fan Chart Views

Once you have selected who you want at the center of the chart, you can view the fan chart in different ways. In each case, the fan chart still shows the names of ancestors as well as birth and death years.

Family Lines

genealogy fan chart of family lines

This view shows a basic fan chart of your family tree. The parent boxes are outlined in a gradient color. The rest of the fan chart is outlined and organized into four colors, one for each grandparent and the person’s ancestral line.

Birth Country

genealogy chart featuring a person's heritage

The Birth Country fan chart is a great way to see what countries you and your family come from. Each box is colored based on where your ancestors were born.

Sources

fan chart of sources attached to family tree

The Sources view shades each box in the fan chart according to how many sources are attached to the person. This view can especially help you discover people in your family tree who could use a few more sources.

Stories

fan chart of stories attached to family tree

The Stories fan chart shades each box according to how many stories or memories have been uploaded and attached to each person in the chart.

This view makes it easy to see which family members have stories you can read about. All you have to do is click the person’s box on the fan chart and then click the Person link. The person’s profile page will open, and you can view stories about the person in the Memories tab.

Photos

Similar to the Stories view, the Photos view shades the fan chart boxes based on how many photos have been attached to each individual in the family tree. To view these photos, click the person’s box on the fan chart and navigate to the person’s profile page to view memories.

Research Helps

Research helps genealogy chart

The Research Helps view of the genealogy chart can show you which people in your family tree could use a little more research. The boxes are organized in three categories, each with its own color—Data Problems, Record Hints, and Research Suggestions.

Ordinances

If you are a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and your FamilySearch account is a Church account, then you can also view your fan chart in an Ordinances view. This view shows the status of your family member’s temple ordinances by coloring the boxes according to three categories—Available, Needs Information, and In Progress.

How to Adjust and Print Your Fan Chart

To adjust and print your fan chart, follow these steps:

  1. Use the Generations bar to select the number of generations you want to view in the genealogy chart.
  2. Select which view of the fan chart you would like to see by using the sidebar that appears on the left.
  3. Click the Options drop-down menu in the right corner. There, you can choose whether to invert the colors of the fan chart. When you are ready, select Print.
  4. A new tab opens that displays your fan chart. From there, you can download and print the genealogy chart.

How the FamilySearch Fan Chart Can Help You

When using these genealogy fan chart views to look at your family information, you are bound to make new discoveries. Instead of scrolling through your tree or clicking on individual screens to gather information one piece at a time, you can now get an overview on one screen.

The next time you are looking at your family on FamilySearch.org, take a moment to try the fan chart view. You just might see your family in a whole new way.

Source: Family Search

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