You may have noticed we have a new menu item on the left. Today, RootsFinder launched an experimental version of our DNA tool kit. With these tools, you will be able to visualize and analyze your DNA matches and tag kits to your tree. We hope you enjoy these tools. They should make it much easier to determine which DNA kits are related to which branches of your tree. Included with these tools are the following:

GEDMatch import

After creating an account and your tree, click on the DNA link in the left side bar. Then click on the “+” and follow the instructions to import your DNA matches from GedMatch. RootsFinder will analyze your DNA matches and create several views to help you make connections.

List view

Show all matches for a given kit. This view shows the most information in the tightest space. Once kits are matched to the tree, kits are color-coded so you can easily tell which branch of your family tree they belong to. The list is sortable and filterable. It displays total autosomal match and largest match, total X-DNA match and largest X-DNA match, color-code for the branch of the family the kit is matched to, and more.

Kit view

Located to the right of the other views, the kit view displays detailed information about selected kits: the kit owner’s name and contact information, who you have matched this kit to in your tree and a fan chart displaying the MRCA (most-recent common ancestor), notes/communication history, a chromosome browser, and a “mini-tree” showing a pedigree chart for the kit. You can import mini-trees from GedMatch or WikiTree.

Segment view

Show how the various segment matches relate to one another, chromosome by chromosome, grouped into matching segment blocks. DNA matches flow like streams into rivers. Modeled after “sankey diagrams,” The Segment View shows where particular chromosome segments match and where different groups converge. Kits are color-coded once again as they are attached to the tree, so it’s easy to see which branch matching segments belong to. When groups of kits overlap on a segment, it’s easy to see where previously-unknown kits are likely to fit into the family tree because they share a common segment. Use the GEDMatch One-to-one Compare or the Multi-Kit Analysis Autosomal Matrix to verify which kits are indeed related, and continue to tag to your most recent common ancestor.

Triangulation view

Show relationship clusters. This view is my favorite because it’s just plain fun. This zoomable view lets you see at a glance how all of your matching kits relate to one another. Again, the kits are color-coded for the branch of the family they belong to. You can hover over a kit to reveal how that kit is related to you, or hover over a link between kits to see how those kits are related to each other. You can click and control-click on kits to show their details in the Kit view to the right. You can even shift-click and drag over an entire cluster to show details for each of the kits in the cluster.

What’s next?

We are excited to launch these new DNA tools. We hope that they make DNA research much easier for you! “Experimental” means that we’re still working things out, but the tools are ready to experiment with. We are planning additional functionality at the end of March, and we welcome your comments and suggestions! DNA tools are available in our Free-Forever plan during the beta period (now – August 2018). After that, they will be part of the Pro Plan ($34.95/year) in order to fund continued development in this area.

Dallan Quass

Dallan Quass

Dallan Quass

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