Such great news!
FamilyTreeDNA has resumed their match file downloads, making FamilyTreeDNA the ONLY major company that provides this important feature. You can now download a file of all of your matches and for autosomal DNA, where they match you on your chromosomes, a critical function for genealogists.
During the aftermath of the 23andMe data breach, at FamilyTreeDNA, you could still view each match individually and up to 7 selected matches together in the chromosome browser, but you could not download your entire match list.
Now, once again, you can!
How To Download Your Matches
To download either your full match list, or a filtered match list, sign on to your account and select matches.
Family Finder Autosomal Matches
Click on any image to enlarge
The Family Finder download option is located at the top of your match list, at far right.
You can download, or export, a CSV file of all of your matches or a select group of filtered matches.
I downloaded all of my matches and then immediately began catching up.
On my PC, I located the file under “downloads” in a file named with my kit number and date.
There’s a LOT of great information here, but let me point out perhaps the most important genealogical feature.
The Matching Bucket Column
The Matching Bucket column isn’t just an “estimate” or best guess of which parental side an individual is related to you on; it’s confirmed through triangulation.
When you link known relatives to their profile card in your tree, FamilyTreeDNA identifies triangulated segments and uses that information to assign matches either maternally, paternally, or both, depending on the matching segments found.
Additional columns reported are:
- Full, first, middle, and last names or each match
- Match Date
- Relationship Range (based on estimates)
- Shared DNA (in cMs)
- Linked Relationship, based on where you linked the match in your tree
- Ancestral Surnames, as entered in by your match
- Y-DNA haplogroup for males, either Y-DNA tested directly or mid-range level haplogroup based on a Family Finder test
- mtDNA Haplogroup
- Notes that you’ve made on this match
- Matching Bucket – maternal, paternal, or both
- X-Match amount in cMs. Remember that X-matching is only shown if the person ALSO matches you on one of the other chromosomes as well. The interpretation of X-matching is somewhat different than other autosomal DNA due to a unique inheritance pattern, which means it can be very important. I discussed that in the article, X Chromosome Master Class and also in my book. FamilyTreeDNA is the only vendor that provides X-matching.
- Autosomal Transfer – yes or no.
This information and these features, combined with shared matches, means that you can assign most of your autosomal matches either maternally or paternally, and often attribute descent from a particular ancestor or couple.
Download the Match Segment File
Additionally, you’ll need to download the match segment file from a separate location.
Under “Autosomal DNA Results and Tools,” click on “Chromosome Browser.
The chromosome browser will display showing all of your matches. Instead of selecting someone to compare, instead, click on “Download All Segments.”
On a PC, the resulting file can be found in downloads.
This file holds the results on every chromosome of each match. Many people will match you on multiple chromosome locations, so will be listed more than once.
I then sort, either by name, or by chromosome and location, depending on my goal.
This segment match file and the match information file should be used together to garner as much information as possible about each match and how you are related.
Y-DNA
The Y-DNA match list is available, too, and can be found at the right of the STR marker headings.
The Big-Y match download option is also to the right of the Big-Y matches tab.
Mitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA matches are also available but in a slightly different location than the Family Finder and Y-DNA.
The mitochondrial DNA match list download is found at the bottom of your match list, in the right corner.
Caution About Privacy
I want to remind everyone about privacy. You should never, ever, send your match list to someone else unless you know them well and are collaborating with them directly. For example, let’s say you’ve asked your sibling or cousin to test, and they have agreed. Sharing under this limited circumstance would be reasonable.
Unfortunately, we have encountered some “researchers” that are targeting specific groups of people and asking them to provide the names and contact information of their matches – in this case – specifically mitochondrial DNA of a particular ethnic group. After receiving your match list, they contact your matches, telling them they are working with someone they match, and then ask for their match list, too – building a genetic pyramid scheme.
Please DO NOT comply with a request of this type. Do NOT provide your sign-in credentials to anyone like this either. Both of these actions risk your security and your matches’ privacy since your matches have only given permission for their matches to see their information – not anyone else. Additionally, this violates FamilyTreeDNA’s Terms and Conditions.
If someone requests this type of information from you, please immediately report it directly to FamilyTreeDNA.
Additional Benefits of Autosomal Match Download Data
The primary benefit of the autosomal match download is being able to see who matches you on which side of your tree, then perform additional research to determine your common ancestor(s).
You can also discover information about various ancestors via both Y-DNA and mitochondrial DNA of your matches who inherited that type of DNA from your common ancestors. I wrote about the four types of DNA that genealogists can use in the article, 4 Kinds of DNA for Genetic Genealogy.
Be sure to check surname projects for your Y-DNA matches along with all of your ancestral surnames, here, to locate testers who descend from those ancestors.
There are additional benefits, too.
You’ll now be able to paint your chromosomes at DNAPainter again using various import features. The most useful import might be the Maternal and Paternal bucketed matches which helps you determine which matches descend from which ancestors. You can find more information in the article, DNAPainter Instructions and Resources, here.
You can also utilize your downloaded file at Genetic Affairs for various types of clusters. You can read more information in the article, Genetic Affairs Instructions and Resources, here.
So download your matches once again, and enjoy! What gems are waiting to be discovered?
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This is great! I really like the autosomal transfer flag — can’t remember if it existed before — but it helps to know I’ll be able to find that match at a different vendor for more shared match info.
Thanks Roberta, I sure could have used the mtDNA match list download back in May when I started my HVR1 & HVR2 matches tracking project. 🙂 Out of curiosity, do you think we will one day be able to compare mutations (difference from the Reference Sequence) for matches who only tested mtDNA (HVR1) and mtDNA Plus (HVR2)? I think having that ability would be very helpful for identifying matches who would be best suited to upgrade to mtDNA Full (FMS).
I don’t think so because Y-DNA testers can’t see STR marker values either. I have no inside info on this though.
Any idea when shared match data will be available for download? Without that, many helpful techniques aren’t available.
If you mean segement information, it is by going to the Chromosome Browser tab and clicking on “Download all segments.” If you mean something else, please clarify.
No, Roberta, I’m not speaking of segment data files, but shared match data (basically the names of those who also match both the tester and the match in question) often referred to as an icw (in common with) file. An icw file contains the above data for every match . I just realized that icw files are never provided by the testing companies, but are developed in a third party tool instead. With so much shut down because of the security issues this past many months. I think I’m confused about where things come from! At least, finally, things are calming down now, thank heaven! Without icw data, autoclustering and some other tools can’t work, including many I rely on.
There’s a difference between ICW matching and the amount of DNA shared between your matches with each other. ICW just tells you that you match both people and they match each other. Most vendors do NOT tell you how much those two matches also share with each other. FamilyTreeDNA does not and never did, but they do allow you to compare the DNA of both people to you in a chromosome browser. You can see if you match both on the same segment. 23andMe did but no longer does. Ancestry did not before, but now shows you how much DNA they share with each other under the new ProTools, but does not tell you if you triangulate or where anyone matches anyone else. MyHeritage shows triangulation and allows you to compare in a chromosome browser, but does not tell you how your ICW matches are related to each other or how much DNA they share with each other. I hope this helps you. I agree, it’s a bit of a hodge-podge.
GEDmatch, however, does allow this — albeit a bit roundaboutly.
After I use the one-to-many tool to identify matches, I can then click on the kit number of any of those matches to generate a list of that person’s matches.
Then it’s simply a matter to look at how much my selected match shares with the matches we have in common.
For example, I share 108 cM with FS, who is my mother’s 2nd cousin. I also share 68 cM with my cousin ML. It turns out that FS’s sharing with ML is 1,054 cM — so they’re pretty darn closely related.
In fact, my genealogy software tells me that ML is the granddaughter of one of FS’s brothers — so his great niece (or as I prefer, his grandniece).
While the procedure I mentioned won’t show matching segments, you can find matching segments with each of the matches, and you can also find what segments they share with each other (though you won’t necessarily know on what side).
In the case of FS and ML, I see that I share five segments with the first and four with the second. Only one is *mostly* in common. I share a 35.8 cM segment with FS on chromosome 4 that substantially overlaps with a 33.8 cM segment I share with ML on chromosome 4.
I downloaded all my matches and then went thru the list looking for Paternal matches since this is the side of my family I know the least about. One of those matches has me a bit confused. Although it is flagged as paternal it he is also a full mtdna match to me. What do you make of that?
MtDNA could be much further back. Or you could be related on both sides. Or check to be sure your links are accurate.
Please note that I’ve updated this article with the location of the second autosomal file you’ll need to download. There are two – the matches and the segment file.