REVIEW: GedView for the Ipad

GedView is one of several genealogy programs available for the Ipad. I'm going to be reviewing most, if not all, of these programs.

I'm starting with GedView. GedView is designed to allow you easy access to your genealogy files when you're away from your computer. You can consult your files in a library, a cemetery, a friend's house, a coffee shop - you get the idea!

The layout of GedView is very nice. A User's Manual is included when you download the App, and it's very easy to follow.

When you open GedView the first time you'll see the ABOUT screen and a clickable button labelled SELECT/IMPORT GEDCOM FILE. A simple tap of the button takes you to the screen for selecting and importing a GEDCOM.

You can either Download a GEDCOM from a website or choose the Upload to Device option.

Each option is very clearly explained and easy to follow. I chose to Upload to Device because it allowed me to turn ON the switch for the Server and transfer my GEDCOM directly to my Ipad over my WiFi network.

As soon as I turned the Server ON, I saw two new lines of text below the switch. These were the two addresses for me to upload my GEDCOM. The first was the name of my Ipad (Administrator's Ipad). The second was a numbered URL in the form http://xxx.xxx.x.x:xxxx

Next step was to open my browser on my computer (not my Ipad) and go to the second URL given in my Ipad.

Once there I chose the UPLOAD FILE button and selected my GEDCOM from my computer's FTW directory. Bingo, it was done. When I reopened GedView my entire genealogy file was there at my fingertips.

There is a third option and that is to use the File-Sharing capability for Ipad using Itunes. This option is also fully explained in the Help File on GedView. You can even email yourself a GEDCOM as an attachment, then open it in your Ipad email you've set up and it will view in GedView.

So far I like it. I'll play around with it some more over the next few days and give an overview of its functions here in this blog.