When your family tree starts growing, managing and organizing it can become challenging. Luckily, Family Tree Maker (FTM) offers two powerful features that make your genealogy work easier: color coding and filters. These tools help you visually organize your family tree and quickly locate specific ancestors based on your research needs.
In this guide, you will learn step-by-step how to use color coding and filters in Family Tree Maker like a pro.
✅ What is Color Coding in Family Tree Maker?
Color coding is a visual tool that helps you highlight and group people in your tree based on specific criteria. You can apply colors to:
- Identify ancestors from paternal or maternal sides
- Highlight direct bloodline
- Mark uncertain or incomplete relationships
- Organize family branches by generation
- Track DNA matches or research priority
✅ Benefits of Using Color Coding
- Improves tree readability
- Saves time in research
- Makes relationships easy to understand
- Helps in tracking genealogy progress
✅ How to Use Color Coding in Family Tree Maker
Follow these steps to apply color coding:
🔹 Step 1: Open Your Tree
Open your Family Tree Maker software and load the tree you want to organize.
🔹 Step 2: Select the Person
Click on the person in your tree that you want to start color-coding.
🔹 Step 3: Choose Color Coding
Go to the top menu and select:
Tools → Color Coding
A color palette will appear.
🔹 Step 4: Apply a Color
You can choose a color based on:
- Direct Ancestors – FTM automatically colors parents, grandparents, and further generations.
- Ancestors of Father or Mother – Separate maternal and paternal lines.
- Descendants of a Person – Highlight all descendants.
- Specific Person or Group – Manually apply a color to selected individuals.
Click Apply to save changes.
✅ What Are Filters in Family Tree Maker?
Filters allow you to search and view people in your tree based on specific criteria. Instead of scrolling through hundreds of names, you can filter your tree by:
- Birth location
- Marriage year
- Gender
- Fact type (e.g. military service, occupation)
- Notes
- Missing information
✅ Benefits of Using Filters
- Quickly identify missing data
- Research specific family lines
- Track historical connections
- Focus on targeted genealogy tasks
✅ How to Use Filters in Family Tree Maker
Follow these steps to filter people in your tree:
🔹 Step 1: Go to Tree View
Click Tree or List view from the main screen.
🔹 Step 2: Open the Filter Tool
Click Filter Individuals from the side panel or use the Search option.
🔹 Step 3: Add Filter Conditions
You can filter by:
- Name
- Dates
- Relationships
- Facts
- Places
- Media items
Example:
To find ancestors born in India, set the filter:
Birthplace → Contains → India
🔹 Step 4: Apply Filter
Click Apply to see a filtered list of matching individuals.
✅ Best Practices for Color Coding and Filters
Here are some pro tips:
| Task | Use Color Coding | Use Filters |
|---|---|---|
| Highlight maternal/paternal lines | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Find missing birth dates | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Organize large family trees | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Track DNA matches | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Locate ancestors from a country | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
✅ Final Thoughts
Using color coding and filters in Family Tree Maker can save you hours of manual work. These tools make it easier to visually organize your research, track progress, and focus on specific ancestors.
If you haven’t started using them yet—now is the time! They are simple, fast, and incredibly helpful for both beginners and advanced genealogy researchers.
✅ FAQs
Q1. Can I remove color coding in Family Tree Maker?
Yes, you can remove or reset colors anytime from Tools → Color Coding → Reset.
Q2. Are filters available in all versions of FTM?
Most filter features are available in FTM 2017 and FTM 2019.
Q3. Can I export color-coded trees?
Yes, the color settings are saved and exported with your tree.