Frequently Asked Questions
Which versions of Legacy does Families work with?
Families works with all versions of Legacy from 6 to 10.
I purchased and installed Families on my iPhone. I now have an iPad and would like to load it there as well. Can that be done without purchasing another copy?
Yes, you can install it for no extra cost providing you connect to the App Store using the same Apple ID you used for the original purchase. If you select the Purchased tab, the app should be listed and you can install from there. (To access the Purchased tab, tap on the Today button then tap the Account button at the top right of the screen).
I purchased and installed Families on my Android phone. I now have an Android tablet and would like to load it there as well. Can that be done without purchasing another copy?
Yes, you can install it for no extra cost providing you connect to Google Play using the same login you used for the original purchase.
I purchased and installed Families on my Apple device. I now have an Android device and would like to load it there as well. Can that be done without purchasing another copy?
Families for iOS and Families for Android are two different products from different app stores, so you'll need to purchase again for your new device.
How do I transfer my family file to my mobile device?
To transfer your Legacy family file to your mobile device, you'll need to install a program called Families Sync on your PC. For help on installing and using Families Sync, see here.
Problems connecting via Wi-Fi.
If you have problems connecting Families Sync to your device, please check the following points:
1. Tap the Sync button on your device and note the address displayed. This should normally have the format 192.168.x.x (or possibly 10.x.x.x or 172.16.x.x). If it is 127.0.0.1 or has the format 169.254.x.x, this indicates that your device has not been allocated an IP address by the DHCP server in your router, which probably means that that your device is not connecting to your router properly. It may be able to connect to the internet but not to other computers on your local network. You need to rectify this before you will be able to communicate between your device and your PC.
2. If the address looks correct, as described above, open a console window on your PC (Command Prompt) and type:
ping 192.168.x.x
where the address is that shown on the Sync screen on your device without the :5050. This should display something like the following if the PC can connect successfully to the device:
Pinging 192.168.0.23 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 192.168.0.23: bytes=32 time=72ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.23: bytes=32 time=63ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.23: bytes=32 time=107ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.23: bytes=32 time=28ms TTL=64
If the PC fails to ping the device, you'll see something like:
Pinging 192.168.0.23 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 192.168.0.13: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.0.13: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.0.13: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.0.13: Destination host unreachable.
3. If the above checks show that the PC and the device are unable to communicate then you have a general networking issue rather than a problem with Families. If you're unable to resolve it, we suggest you contact Apple support at http://www.apple.com/support/.
4. If the above checks are successful then in most cases when you run Families Sync and display the Sync screen on your device, your device should be displayed in the left pane of Families Sync. In a small number of cases with certain network and computer configurations Families Sync may fail to locate the device automatically. In this case, click the button "Locate Device by Address" and enter the address displayed on your device, e.g. 192.168.0.30:5050. The device should be located and displayed in the left pane.
5. If you still have problems after trying the above, try disabling the firewall on your PC. Firewall software such as Norton Antivirus, AVG Anti-Virus, ZoneAlarm and others can prevent Families Sync from communicating with your device.
6. If you have an Apple device, try installing Apple's free Remote app from the App Store. This uses the same communication mechanism as Families Sync. If Remote doesn't work for you then you have a Wi-Fi connectivity problem which is not specific to Families Sync.
If you are still unable to connect via Wi-Fi, please use USB or Dropbox to transfer your files as shown here.
1. Tap the Sync button on your device and note the address displayed. This should normally have the format 192.168.x.x (or possibly 10.x.x.x or 172.16.x.x). If it is 127.0.0.1 or has the format 169.254.x.x, this indicates that your device has not been allocated an IP address by the DHCP server in your router, which probably means that that your device is not connecting to your router properly. It may be able to connect to the internet but not to other computers on your local network. You need to rectify this before you will be able to communicate between your device and your PC.
2. If the address looks correct, as described above, open a console window on your PC (Command Prompt) and type:
ping 192.168.x.x
where the address is that shown on the Sync screen on your device without the :5050. This should display something like the following if the PC can connect successfully to the device:
Pinging 192.168.0.23 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 192.168.0.23: bytes=32 time=72ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.23: bytes=32 time=63ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.23: bytes=32 time=107ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.23: bytes=32 time=28ms TTL=64
If the PC fails to ping the device, you'll see something like:
Pinging 192.168.0.23 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 192.168.0.13: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.0.13: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.0.13: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.0.13: Destination host unreachable.
3. If the above checks show that the PC and the device are unable to communicate then you have a general networking issue rather than a problem with Families. If you're unable to resolve it, we suggest you contact Apple support at http://www.apple.com/support/.
4. If the above checks are successful then in most cases when you run Families Sync and display the Sync screen on your device, your device should be displayed in the left pane of Families Sync. In a small number of cases with certain network and computer configurations Families Sync may fail to locate the device automatically. In this case, click the button "Locate Device by Address" and enter the address displayed on your device, e.g. 192.168.0.30:5050. The device should be located and displayed in the left pane.
5. If you still have problems after trying the above, try disabling the firewall on your PC. Firewall software such as Norton Antivirus, AVG Anti-Virus, ZoneAlarm and others can prevent Families Sync from communicating with your device.
6. If you have an Apple device, try installing Apple's free Remote app from the App Store. This uses the same communication mechanism as Families Sync. If Remote doesn't work for you then you have a Wi-Fi connectivity problem which is not specific to Families Sync.
If you are still unable to connect via Wi-Fi, please use USB or Dropbox to transfer your files as shown here.
I get the following error message when attempting to install Families Sync:
"The installation of Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable Package (x86) appears to have failed. Do you want to continue the installation?"
"The installation of Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable Package (x86) appears to have failed. Do you want to continue the installation?"
Please uninstall Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 x86 Redistributable then perform the Families Sync installation again. That should clear the problem.
Can Families read a GEDCOM file?
You can transfer a GEDCOM file to Families using Families Sync. When selecting the file, click the file type at the bottom right and select "GEDCOM Files" instead of "Legacy Databases".
I transferred my family file to my Android device but it is not shown in Families.
If you transferred your file using USB and your Android device has an SD card, it is likely that the file will have been transferred to the SD card rather than to the device's internal storage. Go to Families' Settings and select "Use External Storage".
The Base Folder value shown in Settings is the folder currently being used as the location for family files. The exact value of this location varies according to the device model, but the following are typical (from a Samsung Galaxy S4):
internal: /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/uk.co.telgen.families/files
external: /storage/extSdCard/Android/data/uk.co.telgen.families/files
The Base Folder value shown in Settings is the folder currently being used as the location for family files. The exact value of this location varies according to the device model, but the following are typical (from a Samsung Galaxy S4):
internal: /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/uk.co.telgen.families/files
external: /storage/extSdCard/Android/data/uk.co.telgen.families/files
Why does Families Sync sometimes show errors "…Error reading media file filename … exceeds maximum length".
Families Sync imposes a limit on the maximum size of a document file. The default limit is 5Mb but this can be increased to a maximum of 20Mb using the setting "Maximum Document Size".
Documents and other media files are stored as binary large objects (BLOBs) embedded within the SQLite file. Storing and manipulating these data structures requires the software to have available contiguous memory of at least the size of the BLOB and in some cases multiples of the size, and experience has shown that increasing the maximum size significantly beyond 20Mb can cause memory exceptions.
Documents and other media files are stored as binary large objects (BLOBs) embedded within the SQLite file. Storing and manipulating these data structures requires the software to have available contiguous memory of at least the size of the BLOB and in some cases multiples of the size, and experience has shown that increasing the maximum size significantly beyond 20Mb can cause memory exceptions.
How can I send my Families SQLite file to a friend or relative?
If you have a friend or relative who would like to view your family file without the need to install Legacy and run Families Sync to transfer the file, you can achieve this using Dropbox. You will need to have the Dropbox app installed but your friend doesn't need to have Dropbox installed.
Tap and hold the filename on the Family Files View, then tap "Send file to …". Tap "Save to Dropbox" or "Share with Add to Dropbox". Choose a folder in which to save the file then tap "Save". Now run the Dropbox app and navigate to the file you want to share.
If using iOS, tap the … icon next to the filename then tap Share. Tap Send to, enter your friend's email address and tap Share.
If using Android, tap the icon next to the filename then tap Share. Enter your friend's email address then tap the Send button.
Your friend will receive an email with a link to the SQLite file. Open this email on an iOS or Android device and tap the View File link.
If using iOS, tap the … button at the top right of the screen, tap Export then Open In… Scroll the top line of icons if necessary and tap Copy to Families.
If using Android, tap Open with Dropbox. Tap the Share button (middle bottom) then Open with Families.
The shared file should now be shown in the Family Files View.
Tap and hold the filename on the Family Files View, then tap "Send file to …". Tap "Save to Dropbox" or "Share with Add to Dropbox". Choose a folder in which to save the file then tap "Save". Now run the Dropbox app and navigate to the file you want to share.
If using iOS, tap the … icon next to the filename then tap Share. Tap Send to, enter your friend's email address and tap Share.
If using Android, tap the icon next to the filename then tap Share. Enter your friend's email address then tap the Send button.
Your friend will receive an email with a link to the SQLite file. Open this email on an iOS or Android device and tap the View File link.
If using iOS, tap the … button at the top right of the screen, tap Export then Open In… Scroll the top line of icons if necessary and tap Copy to Families.
If using Android, tap Open with Dropbox. Tap the Share button (middle bottom) then Open with Families.
The shared file should now be shown in the Family Files View.
I get the following error message when attempting to install Families Sync:
"Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 needs to be installed for this installation to continue"
"Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 needs to be installed for this installation to continue"
Go to Control Panel > Programs & Features > Turn Windows features on or off.
Select ".NET Framework 3.5 …" and click OK.
Repeat the Families Sync installation.
Select ".NET Framework 3.5 …" and click OK.
Repeat the Families Sync installation.