GED2WWW

GED2WWW is a free GEDCOM to HTML converter; it takes a genealogy database stored in GEDCOM format and produces a bunch of web pages from it. I originally wrote GED2WWW for my own use, but it has since grown to be a fairly powerful program. Some of GED2WWW's features include:

• Produces very little HTML (can be less than 300 bytes/individual depending on options selected). Much less HTML than most similar packages.
• Can produce a gendex.txt file suitable for indexing with Gendex
• Supports accented/international characters (ANSEL set)
• Produce portable, standard HTML that is browser independent. The output of GED2WWW is tested for adherence to standards with weblint before every release,
• Dates can be hidden for individuals that are (or may be) alive.
• Summary page, index pages, surname page, and data pages produced.
• Dates can be listed with individuals on the index pages.
• User selectable text/background/link colors
• User selectable background images
• Can customize common words and phrases in database and index pages. This is particularly useful for support of non-English languages.
• Very fast! Benchmarks:
  • 6,400 person GEDCOM in 70 seconds on 33MHz 486 w/ 20 MB RAM
  • 22,000 person GEDCOM in 15 seconds on 150MHz Cyrix 686 w/ 64 MB RAM
  • 45,000 person GEDCOM in 20 seconds on 450MHz Celeron (overclocked from 300MHz) w/ 128 MB RAM
• Compiled version available for Windows 95/98/NT and Macintosh
• Source code for all versions is distributed free.
• Low cost of $0!!!!!

If you are just getting started in genealogy or the internet, or want to learn more check out my Getting Started section.

To see what a database produced with GED2WWW looks like, you can visit mine at http://www.lesandchris.com/genealogy/database/. Or visit my list of GED2WWW Databases.

GED2WWW is distributed as source code, Win32 binary (works with Windows 95, 98, and NT, version 0.29b and earlier will run on a DOS/win 3.1 PC with at least a 386 processor), PowerPC Macintosh binary, and 68K Macintosh binary. The current version of GED2WWW is 0.31, released on September 27, 1999. It can be download from the Download page.

1. The primary purpose of an online genealogy database is not to share all of your information with the world, but to drive contacts with other people who are researching your lines.

2. Many people have limited Internet resources (web host space, browser bandwidth), so the HTML files should be kept as small as possible.

To accomplish #1 the database should be well indexed and extensively cross-linked. To accomplish #2 the amount of information listed for each person should be as little as possible, while still providing enough information to support #1.

You can link to many published GED2WWW databases from the Databases page.

The user-interface to GED2WWW is primitive at best (text based). I am considering making a Windows GUI for GED2WWW but do not have the time right now.

I maintain an e-mail list of GED2WWW users. This list is used to keep users informed of changed and updates to GED2WWW. I normally send out less than 5 e-mails a year on it and do not resell or release the list contents to anyone or use it for any purpose that is not directly GED2WWW related. If you would like to have your e-mail address added to this list, enter it in the form below.

There is an offshoot version of GED2WWW called GED2WWWf. It was written to provide some multi-language features that were not supported by GED2WWW at the time. Starting with GED2WWW version 0.30 better support for language customization has been included. For more information about GED2WWWf check out the GED2WWWf page at http://home.nordnet.fr/~jbfahy/ged2wwwe.htm

If you have any problems with GED2WWW, please check the FAQ/Support page before e-mailing me with support questions

If you have any suggestions of new features you'd like to see in future versions of GED2WWW, please send them to me. Many of the features in GED2WWW came from user suggestions!

I develop GED2WWW in my spare time as a service to genealogists around the globe. GED2WWW is free software. Use and enjoy! If you are uncomfortable getting GED2WWW for free or just want to say "Thanks Les!", you can get me something from my wish-list at CD-NOW.