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This page is also available in Polish (kliknij jeśli chcesz czytać po polsku).
Gramps (Genealogical Research and Analysis Management Programming System) – is one of the most advanced genealogy programs, surpassing others in terms of complexity. Moreover, it is available for free. Like any software, it has its drawbacks, which may vary depending on user expectations. However, thanks to its high level of modularity, Gramps offers extensive capabilities for precise management and organisation of genealogical data.
Gramps is a genealogy program written in Python, available under the GNU GPL-2 licence. It is free, open-source software developed using PyGObject and utilising Graphviz for generating relationship charts. The first release took place on 21 April 2001. The program runs on various operating systems, including Linux, BSD, Solaris, Windows, macOS, and as a web application in the Gramps-web version. Gramps supports over 30 languages, making it accessible to a wide range of users worldwide.
The primary archival file format in Gramps is Gramps XML, which uses the .gramps extension. This is an extended XML format available for free. Documentation for this format (DTD/Syntax) can be found at the provided link, but it will also be thoroughly explained on this page. Gramps XML files can be compressed using gzip. However, if left uncompressed, they can be edited with Notepad or Visual Studio Code. The Portable Gramps XML Package format uses the .gpkg extension and is currently a .tar.gz archive that contains Gramps XML along with all associated media files. Internally, Gramps uses SQLite as its default database backend, with additional database options available as plugins. Gramps can import data from various formats, including: Gramps XML, Gramps Package (Portable Gramps XML), Gramps 2.x .grdb (older Gramps versions), GEDCOM, CSV; It also supports exporting data in the same formats, plus: GW GeneWeb, Web Family Tree (.WFT), CSV; Programs that support Gramps XML include Gramps Web, Betty, PhpGedView, JoomlaGen, and tmg2gramps. The format can also be edited using Notepad, Visual Studio Code, or custom scripts.
Working with Gramps can be enjoyable and efficient if you familiarise yourself with the program's data model. Below is a graphic showing all data dependencies in Gramps. This is basically everything you need to get started!
Gramps is a powerful tool for genealogy enthusiasts, enabling comprehensive management of family data. To fully leverage its capabilities, it is essential to understand the format in which it stores data—most importantly, how it does so without loss.
Most genealogy programs use the GEDCOM (Genealogical Data Communication) format as the standard for data exchange. The most commonly used version, GEDCOM 5.5, was published back in 1996. This format was developed by the Genealogical Society of Utah (now the Family History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormons).
However, Gramps offers far more features than GEDCOM can support. This means that exporting data to GEDCOM inevitably results in some loss of information. But there’s a solution!
If you understand how Gramps stores data in its Gramps XML format, you can write a simple conversion script in just a few minutes. This script can transform unsupported elements into notes or adjust them in other ways to preserve as much information as possible.
This opens up entirely new possibilities for you — full control over your data, seamless exchange, and advanced processing and analysis! 🚀
If you selected multiple language support during installation and are wondering how to switch languages in Gramps, here’s a quick explanation.
Let’s assume Gramps on Windows was installed in the following location:
"C:\GRAMPS\AIO64-6.0.0-beta2-1"
By default, in the shortcut settings, you will find:
Target: "C:\GRAMPS\AIO64-6.0.0-beta2-1\grampsw.exe"
Start in: "C:\GRAMPS\AIO64-6.0.0-beta2-1"
If your system is set to default to English and you want to run Gramps in Polish, change the Target field to:
%comspec% /c set LANG=pl_PL.UTF-8 && start grampsw.exe
Leave the Start in field unchanged.
Similarly, you can switch the language for other versions by modifying the LANG environment variable.
This page is also available in Polish (kliknij jeśli chcesz czytać po polsku).
What's next?
2️⃣: (in progress) Familiarise yourself with the page discussing the gramps-xml file exchange format. (https://www.cisowscy.com/gene/grampsxml-eng).
3️⃣: (in progress) Explore the page that demonstrates my use of Gramps through examples.
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