Downloading and Importing MyHeritage
Data able to be downloaded directly from MyHeritage is limited to Relative Data and Chromosome Data. DNAGedcom Client and Pedigree Thief are able to gather Triangulation and ICW data.
Regardless of how you chose to gather your ICW / Triangulation data, the Direct Download of Matches and Segment files from MyHeritage need to be imported before the files from another source.
Built in templates available for data collected from My Heritage
Note: The MyHeritage key is a 38 character alphanumeric string.
If your MyHeritage imports do not work, please check that your profile key is set up correctly as this will be the prime suspect for an import fail.
MyHeritage has anti-scraping measures in place and can 'lock- out' users for about an hour at a time, so the reading of data has to be done in stages. If this occurs, simply come back later and try again.
Match and Chromosome Data Direct from My Heritage
Note: All MyHeritage imports of ICW or Triangulations require direct download files to be imported first.
Downloading the Data
Select DNA Matches
Select the person you wish to gather information for
Click on the 3 vertical dots and select "Export entire DNA Matches list".
Click on the 3 vertical dots again and select "Export shared DNA segment info for all DNA Matches".
Wait for the lists to be emailed to you and unzip the files to a known location on your computer.
They will be named "<name> DNA Matches list <Date>-(Alphanumeric)" and "<name> DNA Matches shared segments <date>-(alphanumeric)"
Note: The Alphanumeric that appends your file name is unique to you, but is not part of your match key for GMPro. See Profile Keys for how to find your MyHeritage ID if you have not already done so.
The time taken to receive your files by email can vary between minutes and hours, sometimes even days. This is a MyHeritage issue, and depends on a variety of factors. Be Patient.
Importing into GDAT
Using the Import Menu "From MyHeritage > 1. My Heritage Relative List”, load the file named “<name> DNA Matches list <Date>”
When the Import Summary appears, review the contents and Log File if desired, then click close.
Using the import menu "From MyHeritage > 2. MyHeritage DNA Segments", load the file named “<name> DNA Matches shared segments <date>”
When the Import Summary appears, review the contents and Log File if desired, then click close.
If you downloaded additional data via either DNAGedcom or Pedigree Thief, you may now proceed to those imports.
ICW and Triangulation data via Pedigree Thief
Written with the guidance of Colin Thomson who is the developer of the Pedigree Thief tool. See the Help page of Pedigree Thief for more information if needed by right clicking on the PT icon in your browser.
Downloading the Data
Gathering your Matches.
Pedigree Thief needs to create its own database to then be able to gather the rest of the desired data.
On MyHeritage, navigate to the DNA Matches page by hovering over the DNA menu item and select DNA Matches on the dropdown that appears.
Select the Test person for whom the matches are to be gathered.
If updating the database, change sort order to 'Most recent'.
Click 'Pedigree Thief' icon.
Change “number of pages to be read” as required.
On the first time of use - the only option available is “Select the number of pages to read” and “Read Matches”. At least one page has to be read for each test person. (This is to place profile details in the database.)
The "Save Stored Matches" button produces a csv file that is not needed for GDAT imports, but you can save this for your own needs if desired.
Gathering your ICW and Triangulation Data
Navigate to one of your MyHeritage Match pages
Click 'Pedigree Thief' icon.
Wait for data to be downloaded.
Click 'Save ICW' button. This will produce a file named “MyHeritage ICWs for <profile Name> and <match name>.csv “. Save it somewhere safe for later.
Click 'Read/Save ### Triangulations' button. This will navigate through a series of triangulation pages and save a file named “MyHeritage Triangulations for <profile Name> and <match name>.csv “. to your downloads folder.
Repeat as many times as desired for each match you wish to have this information for.
Note: The "Save Chromosome Data" button will create a csv file that is not needed for GDAT imports, but you can save this for your own needs if desired.
The 'Save ICW (missing ID)' button will produce a csv file. This lists the matches that PT could not find in its database. Perhaps a new match not yet loaded, or the owner has changed the match name since the his/her page was read, or there is more than one match in the database that has the same details as the ICW person. A user can use this information to search for the individual and run PT on the page to update the database.
Importing into GDAT
Import the direct downloaded files into GDAT (see the relevant section above for details)
Import the ICW file through "Pedigree Thief > 3: MyHeritage ICWs". Review the Import Summary if desired.
Import the Triangulation file through "Pedigree Thief > MyHeritage Triangulations". Review the Import Summary if desired.
Repeat steps 2 and 3 as many times as desired for each match you wish to have this information for.
ICW and Triangulation imports from Pedigree Thief can be done in any order without issues.
ICW and Triangulation data via DNAGedcom Client
Downloading the Data
Open the Client, select Gather, and then MyHeritage.
Enter email & password, and click Web Login.
Load the Match File and Chromosome file directly downloaded from MyHeritage.
Note: It is recommended to load the MH downloaded files before gathering through the client, as this will speed up the process by up to 45 seconds per match. For 1,000 matches, that’s over 12 hours. It is also recommended to do this for a first time run, or if it has been at least 3 months since your last gather.Select the Profile that matches the files loaded.
Tick Gather ICW and Gather Triangulation as a minimum (default options shown)
Click on Gather DNA Data.
When the process is complete, you should have a number of files in the DNAGedcom folder. Only two of these files will be needed for GDAT.
Importing into GDAT
Ensure you have imported the direct downloaded files into GDAT before proceeding. (See the relevant section above for details.)
Import ICW file through "DNAGedcom: 3. MyHeritage ICW Data"
Review the Import Summary if desired.Import Triangulation file through "DNAGedcom: 4. MyHeritage Triangulation Data"
Review the Import Summary if desired.
Ancestors of Matches
Gathering a MyHeritage match's family tree can be done in one of the following ways depending on your level of access and or personal preference.
DNAGedcom Client can gather the information on a match's tree. This can be gathered at the same time as downloading the ICW and Triangulation data, and can be loaded into GDAT through the "DNAGedcom > 5. MyHeritage Ancestors" import option.
Using the Pedigree Thief browser extension to gather the tree data. This is gathered by viewing the match's tree and clicking on the Pedigree Thief icon. Then click "Copy Ahnentafel", and load this into GDAT through the F2 page of the match, via the right click "Import > PedigreeThief" menu item.
Using the One2Tree browser extension (Windows only) to gather the tree data. This is gathered by viewing the match's tree and clicking on the One2Tree icon. The use Ctrl+A and Ctrl+C to copy the entire page, and import this into GDAT via the F2 page of the match, via the right click "Import > One2Tree" menu item.
Note: The unpaid version of One2Tree will only gather 4 generations at a time. The paid version defaults to 12 generations but will gather up to 52 generations.
Note: If you are going to gather tree data via either PedigreeThief or One2Tree, you will want to ensure that you are viewing a match's tree from the point that they have assigned to themselves, and not from the home person in the tree (which can occur if the DNA kit is managed by a different person). In GDAT, use the "Links Specific to the current Profile" "Go" button to reach the match's page at MyHeritage. Then scroll down to find the match's tree on the page, this usually appears below the "Shared DNA Matches" listing. Click on the match in this tree view, and then on "View in Tree". From here, you can use one of the browser extensions to gather the available tree data. If you choose to use the "View Tree" link at the top of a match page, there is the possibility that you may end up viewing the tree from a different person's position, and not your DNA Match's position in the tree.
Loading via Gedcom is also possible via the GDAT F2 page of the match and the right click "Import > Gedcom" menu item. This method however requires you to have a Gedcom file for this person's tree, either extracted from your own family tree, or received from your Match while communicating with them. It is also possible to use Pedigree Thief to create a Gedcom from a match's tree if desired.