1 2 3[](https://travis-ci.org/fisharebest/webtrees) 4[](https://coveralls.io/github/fisharebest/webtrees?branch=master) 5[](https://weblate.iet.open.ac.uk/projects/webtrees/webtrees/) 6[](https://insight.sensiolabs.com/projects/78a5ba19-7ddf-4a58-8262-1c8a149f38de) 7[](https://scrutinizer-ci.com/g/fisharebest/webtrees/?branch=master) 8[](https://codeclimate.com/github/fisharebest/webtrees) 9[](https://github.styleci.io/repos/11836349) 10 11# webtrees - online collaborative genealogy 12 13The project’s website is [www.webtrees.net](https://www.webtrees.net). 14Further documentation is available at [wiki.webtrees.net](https://wiki.webtrees.net) and [webtrees.github.io](https://webtrees.github.io). 15 16## Contents 17 18* [License](#license) 19* [Coding styles and standards](#coding-styles-and-standards) 20* [Introduction](#introduction) 21* [System requirements](#system-requirements) 22* [Internet browser compatibility](#internet-browser-compatibility) 23* [Installation](#installation) 24* [Upgrading](#upgrading) 25* [Building and developing](#building-and-developing) 26* [Gedcom (family tree) files](#gedcom-family-tree-files) 27* [Security](#security) 28* [Backup](#backup) 29 30 31## License 32 33* **webtrees: online genealogy** 34* Copyright 2019 webtrees development team 35 36This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify 37it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by 38the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or 39(at your option) any later version. 40 41This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, 42but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of 43MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the 44GNU General Public License for more details. 45 46You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License 47along with this program. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>. 48 49## Coding styles and standards 50 51webtrees follows the [PHP Standards Recommendations](https://www.php-fig.org/psr). 52 53* [PSR-1](https://www.php-fig.org/psr/psr-1) - Basic Coding Standard 54* [PSR-2](https://www.php-fig.org/psr/psr-2) - Coding Style Guide 55* [PSR-4](https://www.php-fig.org/psr/psr-4) - Autoloading Stardard 56* [PSR-6](https://www.php-fig.org/psr/psr-6) - Cache 57* [PSR-7](https://www.php-fig.org/psr/psr-7) - HTTP Message Interface 58* [PSR-11](https://www.php-fig.org/psr/psr-11) - Container Interface 59* [PSR-12](https://www.php-fig.org/psr/psr-12) - Extended Coding Style Guide 60* [PSR-15](https://www.php-fig.org/psr/psr-15) - HTTP Handlers 61* [PSR-17](https://www.php-fig.org/psr/psr-17) - HTTP Factories 62 63We do not currently use [PSR-3 (logging)](https://www.php-fig.org/psr/psr-3) - but we plan to do so in the future. 64 65## Introduction 66 67**webtrees** is the web's leading online collaborative genealogy application. 68 69* It works from standard GEDCOM files, and is therefore compatible with every 70major desktop application. 71* It aims to to be efficient and effective by using the right combination of 72third-party tools, design techniques and open standards. 73 74**webtrees** allows you to view and edit your genealogy on your website. It has 75full editing capabilities, full privacy functions, and supports imedia such as 76photos and document images. As an online program, it fosters extended family 77participation and good ancestral recording habits, as it simplifies the process 78of collaborating with others working on your family lines. Your latest information 79is always on your web site and available for others to see, defined by viewing 80rules you set. For more information and to see working demos, visit 81[webtrees.net](https://webtrees.net/). 82 83**webtrees** is Open Source software that has been produced by people from many 84countries freely donating their time and talents to the project. All service, 85support, and future development is dependent on the time developers are willing 86to donate to the project, often at the expense of work, recreation, and family. 87Beyond the few donations received from users, developers receive no compensation 88for the time they spend working on the project. There is also no outside source 89of revenue to support the project. Please consider these circumstances when 90making support requests and consider volunteering your own time and skills to make 91the project even stronger and better. 92 93 94## System requirements 95 96To install **webtrees**, you need: 97 98* A webserver. Apache, NGINX and IIS are the most common types. To use “Pretty URLs”, you will need to configure URL rewriting" 99* A database. MySQL is recommended, although PostgreSQL, SQL-Server and SQLite can be used. Some features rely on MySQL for collation. Other database might not sort names according to local rules. **webtrees** uses a prefix for its table names, so you can install several instances of webtrees in the same database. 100* Approximately 100MB of disk space for the application files, plus whatever is 101 needed for your media files, GEDCOM files and database. 102* PHP 7.1 - 7.4. Servers with PHP 5.3 - 7.0 can use **webtrees** 1.7. 103 * PHP should be configured to allow sufficient server resources (memory and 104 execution time) for the size of your system. Typical requirements are: 105 * Small systems (500 individuals): 16–32 MB, 10–20 seconds 106 * Medium systems (5,000 individuals): 32–64 MB, 20–40 seconds 107 * Large systems (50,000 individuals): 64–128 MB, 40–80 seconds 108 109## Browser compatibility 110 111 **webtrees** is tested on recent versions of popular browsers such as Edge, Firefox, 112 Chrome, and Safari. Support for other browsers and older versions is on a case-by-case basis. 113 114## Installation 115 1161. Download the .ZIP file for latest stable version from [github.com](https://github.com/fisharebest/webtrees/releases/latest) 1172. Unzip the files and then upload them to an empty folder on your web server. 1183. Open your web browser and type the URL for your **webtrees** site (for example, 119 ``http://www.yourserver.com/webtrees`` into the address bar. 1204. The **webtrees** setup wizard will start automatically. 121 122Your first task will be to create a family tree. 123 124If you have a GEDCOM file, you can import it into the tree. If not, just start 125entering your family tree. 126 127There are lots of configuration options. You'll probably want to review the 128privacy settings first. Don't worry too much about all the other options - the 129defaults are good for most people. If you get stuck, you can get friendly help 130and advice from the [help](https://webtrees.net/forums) forum. 131 132 133## Upgrading 134 135Upgrading **webtrees** is quick and easy. It is strongly recommended that you 136upgrade your installation whenever a new version is made available. Even minor 137**webtrees** version updates usually contain a significant number of bug fixes 138as well as interface improvements and program enhancements. 139 140* **Automatic upgrade** 141 142 **webtrees** has an automatic upgrade facility. An administrator upon logging in 143will receive notification when a new version is available and an option to start 144the automatic upgrade. If for some reason the automatic upgrade should fail 145then a manual upgrade should be performed. 146 147* **Manual upgrade** 148 149 1. Now would be a good time to make a [backup](#backup). 150 2. Download the latest version of **webtrees** available from 151 [webtrees.net](https://webtrees.net/) 152 3. While you are in the middle of uploading the new files, 153 a visitor to your site would encounter a mixture of new and old files. This 154 could cause unpredictable behavior or errors. To prevent this, create the 155 file **data/offline.txt**. While this file exists, visitors will see a 156 “site unavailable - come back later” message. 157 4. Unzip the .ZIP file, and upload the files to your web server, overwriting the existing files. 158 5. Delete the file **data/offline.txt** 159 160 161### Note for Macintosh users 162 163Step 4 assumes you are using a copy tool that **merges** directories rather than 164replaces them. (**Merge** is standard behavior on Windows and Linux.) If you use 165the Macintosh Finder or other similar tool to perform step 3, it will **replace** 166your configuration, media and other directories with the empty/default ones from 167the installation. This would be very bad (but you did take a backup in step 1, 168didn't you!). Further details and recommendations for suitable tools can be found 169by searching [google.com](http://google.com). 170 171 172## Building and developing 173 174If you want to build webtrees from source, or modify the code, you'll need to install 175a couple of tools first. 176 177You will need [composer](https://getcomposer.org/) to install the PHP dependencies. 178Then run this command:: 179 180* php composer.phar install 181 182You will need [npm](https://www.npmjs.com/get-npm) to install the Javascript dependencies. 183Then run the commands: 184 185* npm install 186* npm run production 187 188You will need to re-run the second of these any time you modify the file `webtrees.js`. 189 190## Gedcom (family tree) files 191 192When you import a family tree (GEDCOM) file in **webtrees** the 193data from the file is transferred to the database tables. The file itself 194remains in the **webtrees/data** folder and is no longer used or required 195by **webtrees**. Any subsequent editing of the **webtrees** data 196will not change this file 197 198When or if you change your genealogy data outside of **webtrees**, it is not 199necessary to delete your GEDCOM file or database from **webtrees** and start 200over. Follow these steps to update a GEDCOM that has already been imported: 201 202* Go to ``Control panel`` -> ``Manage family trees`` On the line relating to this particular family tree (GEDCOM) 203 file (or a new one) select IMPORT. 204* Take careful note of the media items option (_“If you have created media objects 205 in **webtrees**, and have edited your data off-line using software that 206 deletes media objects, then tick this box to merge the current media objects 207 with the new GEDCOM.”_) In most cases you should leave this box **UNCHECKED**. 208* Click “SAVE”. **webtrees** will validate the GEDCOM again before importing. 209 During this process, **webtrees** copies your entire family tree (GEDCOM file) 210 to a 'chunk' table within your database. Depending on the coding of your file, 211 its file size and the capabilities of your server and the supporting software, 212 this may take some time. **No progress bar will show while the data is being 213 copied** and should you navigate away from this page, the process is suspended. 214 It will start again when you return to the Family Tree management page. 215 216 217### Gedcom file Formats 218 219Every Family History program has its own method of creating GEDCOM files, and 220differing output format options to select from. **webtrees'** import routines 221can read many different formats, but not necessarily all. If your software has 222a “UTF8” option you should always use that. However, **webtrees** has been 223tested with these alternative formats: 224 225* ANSI 226 * imports OK, but is slow due to the translation into UTF8 as part 227 of the import process. 228* MAC 229 * imports OK, but is slow due to the translation into UTF8 as part 230 of the import process. 231* DOS 232 * imports OK, but is slow due to the translation into UTF8 as part 233 of the import process. 234* ANSEL 235 * currently will not import. Gives warning *Error: cannot convert 236 GEDCOM file from ANSEL encoding to UTF-8 encoding*. Later releases 237 of **webtrees** may include the facility to translate from ANSEL to UTF8, 238 but for now a standalone utility [is available here](https://dev.webtrees.net/ansel/) 239 and should be used to convert the format to UTF-8 prior to importing. 240 241 242## Security 243 244**Security** in _webtrees_ means ensuring your site is safe from unwanted 245intrusions, hacking, or access to data and configuration files. The developers 246of _webtrees_ regard security as an extremely important part of its development 247and have made every attempt to ensure your data is safe. 248 249The area most at risk of intrusion would be the **/data** folder that contains your 250config.ini.php file, and various temporary files. If you are concerned there 251may be a risk there is a very simple test you can do: try to fetch the file 252config.ini.php by typing **``url_to_your_server/data/config.ini.php``** in your web 253browser. 254 255The most likely result is an “access denied” message like this: 256 257 Forbidden 258 259 You don't have permission to access /data/config.ini.php on this server. 260 261This indicates that the protection built into **webtrees** is working, and no 262further action is required. 263 264In the unlikely event you do fetch the file (you will just see a semicolon), 265then that protection is not working on your site and you should take some further 266action. 267 268If your server runs PHP in CGI mode, then change the permission of the **/data** 269folder to 700 instead of 777. This will block access to the httpd process, 270while still allowing access to PHP scripts. 271 272This will work for perhaps 99% of all users. Only the remaining 1% should consider 273the most complex solution, moving the **/data** folder out of accessible web 274space. (**_Note:_** In many shared hosting environments this is not an option anyway.) 275 276If you do find it necessary, following is an example of the process required: 277 278If your home folder is something like **/home/username**, 279and the root folder for your web site is **/home/username/public_html**, 280and you have installed **webtrees** in the **public_html/webtrees** folder, 281then you would create a new **data** folder in your home folder at the same 282level as your public_html folder, such as **/home/username/private/data**, 283and place your GEDCOM (family tree) file there. 284 285Then change the **Data folder** setting on the ``Control panel`` -> 286``Website`` -> ``Website preferences`` page from the default **data/** to the new 287location **/home/username/private/data** 288 289You will have **two** data directories: 290 291* [path to webtrees]/data - just needs to contain config.ini.php 292* /home/username/private/data - contains everything else 293 294 295## Backup 296 297Backups are good. Whatever problem you have, it can always be fixed from a good 298backup. 299 300To make a backup of **webtrees**, you need to make a copy of the following 301 3021. The files in the *webtrees/data* folder. 3032. The files in the *webtrees/media* folder. 3043. The tables in the database. Freely available tools such as 305 [phpMyAdmin](http://www.phpmyadmin.net) allow you to do this in one click. 306 307Remember that most web hosting services do NOT backup your data, and this is 308your responsibility. 309
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
){kind=link}