Genealogy Templates and Charts

Genealogy templates and charts are a beautiful way to share and display your family tree. There are many different types of genealogy templates and charts you can create, depending on your genealogy goals and what’s most important to you. You can include dates, photos, and as many generations as you like, and there are so many formats to choose from. MyHeritage’s genealogy chart creator allows you to create beautiful, fully customized charts in a variety of formats simply and easily.

Aside from the format or layout of the chart, the genealogy chart creator lets you select from among 18 preset visual styles, or customize your own visual style with different backgrounds, colors, frames, fonts, and more.

Building your family tree online has a number of important advantages over creating it on paper. It’s endlessly editable and customizable, you can create many different types and styles of charts very easily using the same tree, and you can even store photos and media. When you build a tree on MyHeritage, you can also take advantage of the many other useful technologies MyHeritage has to offer that can enrich your research, such as tree-to-tree and tree-to-historical-record matching, a Consistency Checker, the world’s best AI technology for improving old family photos, and much more.

In this article, we’ll explore the different types of charts and templates you may like to use for your family tree and discuss the advantages of each format. There are 8 different types of charts you can generate on MyHeritage:

Let’s dive in:

Build and Download Charts and Templates

Creating a family tree chart from a family tree on MyHeritage is super simple. If you don’t have a family tree on MyHeritage yet, you can either import one from another software or service as a GEDCOM, or build it from scratch on MyHeritage.

Below are the 8 chart types you can generate automatically from your family tree on MyHeritage:

Bowtie chart

The bowtie chart shows the main person at the center, next to one spouse, with their ancestors above them on either side, and their children below. This format is wonderful for displaying a basic family tree that focuses on close family members — a great choice for a wall display in a family home, or as a perfect anniversary gift. It has a lovely symmetry and balanced proportions.

When creating this chart, you can select the main person from your family tree and specify how many generations you’d like to be included. You can also choose from among 18 preset design
styles, or customize your own by choosing your preferred frame, background image, fonts, and other design elements.

Close family chart

The close family chart shows the grandparents of the main person and all the descendants of those grandparents, including all the cousins of the main person. Most types of charts, such as pedigree charts, ancestor charts, and descendant charts, don’t include cousins or other collateral relatives. That makes this a great chart for sharing with relatives or gift for some proud grandparents.

When creating a close family chart, you can choose whether the chart will be vertical or horizontal. Choose the main person and specify how many generations to include. In terms of design, you can choose from 18 preset design styles or customize it with your choice of frame, background images, fonts, and other design elements.

Ancestors chart

The ancestor chart is a pedigree-style chart that shows all the ancestors of the main person, starting with the root individual and moving back a generation at a time through their ancestors. It’s a great chart format for sharing with children and teaching them about who their ancestors were. You might even like to print and gift it to a child as a coming-of-age gift.

When creating this ancestral chart, you can choose to format it vertically or horizontally, specify the main person and how many generations to include, and choose from 18 preset design styles or customize it with your choice of frame, background images, fonts, and other design elements.

Descendants chart

In contrast to a pedigree or ancestor chart, the descendant chart shows all descendants of the main person, from all spouses of that person — showing the family tree branching out over the generations. This is a great chart to share with relatives with whom you share a common ancestor, or could make a lovely gift to the “patriarch” or “matriarch” of a large family clan.

You can customize the descendants chart by choosing a vertical or horizontal format, selecting from 18 visual styles, and choosing how much information for each person and how many generations to
include in the chart. There is also an advanced customization option to create your own visual style, including your choice of frame, background images, fonts, and other design elements.

Hourglass chart

The hourglass chart combines the ancestor chart with a descendant chart for the same main person, meaning it shows the main person’s ancestors branching out above them and their descendants branching out below. It’s similar to the bowtie chart in concept, but is better for showing a larger family clan — and it can be formatted horizontally as well as vertically (with the ancestors on the left and descendants on the right). This kind of chart makes a great gift for a grandparent.

The hourglass chart combines the ancestor chart with a descendant chart for the same main person, meaning it shows the main person’s ancestors branching out above them and their descendants
branching out below. It’s similar to the bowtie chart in concept, but is better for showing a larger family clan — and it can be formatted horizontally as well as vertically (with the ancestors on the left and descendants on the right). This kind of chart makes a great gift for a grandparent.

Sun chart

The sun chart is a very unique format that’s exclusive to MyHeritage. Its design was inspired by a traditional circular family tree format used by communities across Europe for centuries. It displays the main person in the middle, with each generation represented in concentric rings radiating out from the center. This spatially efficient format allows it to include a large number of descendants, making it an excellent choice for bringing to family reunions.

The sun chart can display descendants, with a pair of ancestors in the center and their descendants
in rings around them, or ancestors, with one person in the middle and their ancestors displayed in arcs around them. You can choose the main person, how many facts to include for each person, how large you would like the photos of each person to be, and how many generations to include in the chart.

Fan chart

The fan chart is a form of pedigree or ancestor chart that displays the main person at the bottom in the center, with ancestors branching out above like a fan. It’s more symmetrical and visually pleasing than a traditional pedigree chart. In addition to the fan chart available through the chart creator feature, MyHeritage offers a dynamic fan view for the family tree that can also be downloaded as a colorful graphic.

The fan chart in the chart creator feature also offers a descendant chart format, with the main person on the upper right corner and the ancestors branching out on a diagonal below. This type of chart
does not support photos; however, like with the other types of chart, you can select from among 18 design styles or customize the design with your choice of background, frame, fonts, and other elements. You can also choose which facts to include for each person and how many generations to include.

All-in-one chart

The all-in-one chart displays the entire family tree, including all relatives of the main person by blood and by marriage. This makes it a great representation of all the work you’ve done so far on your tree — a great way to show off your research. Note that the lines connecting between the relatives won’t cross each other to maintain clarity, but this does mean that people from the same generation may be displayed on different levels.

As with the other types of charts, you can customize it by choosing from 18 design styles or selecting your own background, frame, fonts, and so on. You can also choose the main person, which facts to include for each person, and how many generations to include.

Chart and Template Resources

Want to learn more about genealogy charts and templates? Check out the following articles and webinars:

How-to articles:

How to Create a Family Tree Chart or Book on MyHeritage

This article by Daniella Levy from the MyHeritage Knowledge Base is a complete step-by-step guide to generating family tree charts on MyHeritage, including detailed descriptions of each type of chart and instructions on how to customize the charts with personal details and design choices. It also describes how to print the chart at home or using a professional printing service. In addition, the article includes information on creating charts with Family Tree Builder, MyHeritage’s free downloadable software, which can generate the same types of charts but includes a few additional options for customization.

Printing family tree charts

This article by Thomas MacEntee on the MyHeritage Wiki provides guidance on printing family tree charts, highlighting methods to share genealogical research visually. It covers printing options available through the MyHeritage family site, including step-by-step instructions for creating and printing charts directly or saving them as PDFs for professional printing. Additionally, it discusses the Family Tree Builder software’s capabilities for generating various chart types and tips for printing large format charts that may not fit on standard printers.

Webinars:

Ask the Expert: Generate Charts and Graphics

In this recorded webinar from the MyHeritage Knowledge Base, Genealogy Expert Daniel Horowitz focuses on how users can generate genealogy charts and reports from their family tree. It covers the creation process, different chart types, styles, customization options, and how to view, download, or order these charts. Additionally, it includes a segment on family books and sun charts, along with advanced customization techniques. The session concludes with announcements and a Q&A session. This educational event is designed to help users visually represent their genealogical research, making it shareable and tangible for family members.

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Everything You Need to Know About Genealogical Charts and Reports

This webinar, hosted by Senior VP of Product Uri Gonen from MyHeritage, delves into the intricacies of genealogical charts and reports, providing viewers with comprehensive insights into their types, uses, creation methods, and more. It covers various chart types, including Bowtie, Close Family, Ancestors, Descendants, All-in-One, Fan Chart, Sun Chart, and Family Book, alongside introducing the Family Tree Builder charts. Participants also learn about ordering poster versions of their charts. The session concludes with announcements, prizes, and an extensive Q&A segment, making it a valuable resource for anyone interested in organizing and sharing their genealogical findings​.

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