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DNArboretum: A Great Free Google Chrome Extension for Viewing Trees on 23andMe (Old-Style Trees) and FTDNA

9/4/2015

17 Comments

 
DNArboretum LogoDNArboretum
Thanks to a posting on the Yahoo! DNA-Newbie message board (Topic 49775), I'm now aware of a great FREE extension for Google Chrome, which was released in April 2014 by "neanderling" (if you have a 23andMe account, see thread Here). I hadn't seen it mentioned elsewhere, so thought a blog posting would spread the word, as I'm certain that others will find it useful too.

Let's face it, the trees at 23andMe and Family Tree DNA (FTDNA) are pretty awkward and clunky. DNArboretum quickly extracts information from a displayed tree and presents it as a list based on Ahnentafel number, showing the name and, if included on the tree, the year and location of birth and death. You can then either skim down the list, or search for names or locations. This is so much easier than trying to wade through the trees on either 23andMe or FTDNA. Unfortunately, it only works on the old-style trees on 23andMe – for anyone with a tree that is now on MyHeritage, the only way a tree can now be set up (see 23andMe and MyHeritage Collaboration), DNArboretum doesn't work, but there are still some old-style trees on 23andMe if people didn't "upgrade" to a tree on MyHeritage. When available, at least 9 generations are displayed at 23andMe and up to 15 generations at FTDNA.
The other nice feature of DNArboretum is that you have the option to show different inheritance modes: all ancestors (autosomal mode), or only those on the X-chromosome DNA, mitochondrial DNA, or Y-chromosome DNA lines.

Adding DNArboretum to Chrome

Open Google Chrome (it won't work for other browsers), then click Here for the DNArboretum extension. Click on the blue button "Add to Chrome".
Add DNArboretum to Chrome
(Click to enlarge)
Chrome will confirm that you wish to add the DNArboretum extension. Click on Add.
Confirm Add DNArboretum
(Click to enlarge)
A green "Added to Chrome" icon will appear to confirm that DNArboretum has been added.
Added to Chrome
(Click to enlarge)

Using DNArboretum

  • Load a family tree from FTDNA or 23andMe – as indicated above, DNArboretum only works with the old-style trees on 23andMe, not those that are now linked to MyHeritage. Wait for the tree to load completely (i.e., until the load icon stops spinning)
  • Click on the DNArboretum icon, which appears at the far right of the Address bar (to the right of the URL).
Click on DNArboretum Icon
(Click to enlarge)
  • For FTDNA, you need to be in the Ancestry View (see bottom left of the page) – if you are in the Family View, a prompt will appear to click on the Ancestry View.
Prompt tomuse Ancestry View
(Click to enlarge)
Ancestry View
(Click to enlarge)
  • After clicking the DNArboretum icon, the Ahnentafel list appears almost instantaneously, with the default being Autosomal mode. You can search on this list (for example, for a specific surname or location) by using Ctrl+F if using Windows (or if using a Mac/Apple iOS, Command-F) and you can copy the list into a spreadsheet. To switch to the other inheritance modes, the instructions indicate Shift-click, but I didn't find that this worked for me, although Ctrl-click did work (I use Windows and I don't know what works if using Mac iOS – please add a Comment if you are a Mac user). Other modes are shown below.
DNArboretum Autosomal mode
DNArboretum: Autosomal Mode (click to enlarge)
X-chromosome mode highlights those ancestors from whom your match could have inherited X-chromosome DNA – note that X-chromosome inheritance is different for males and females. 
DNArboretum: X-chromosome Mode
DNArboretum: X-chromosome Mode (click to enlarge)
Mitochondrial (maternal haplogroup) mode indicates those ancestors on your match's mother's, mother's, mother's, mother's, mother, etc. line.
DNArboretum mtDNA Mode
DNArboretum: mtDNA Mode (click to enlarge)
Y-chromosome (paternal haplogroup) mode indicates those ancestors on your match's father's, father's, father's, father's, father, etc. line.
DNArboretum: Y-Chromosome Mode
DNArboretum: Y-Chromosome Mode (click to enlarge)
I suggest you give DNArboretum a try! Thanks to "neanderling" for providing this.

UPDATE (added 4 Sep 2015):
A couple of people on one of the mailing lists have indicated that the list didn't appear for them, but once AdBlock or some security protection was disabled that DNArboretum worked fine. I tested DNArboretum in Incognito mode and nothing happened, so use regular mode for Chrome. If you initially have a problem and then manage to solve it, please leave a comment to help others. 

Other Google Chrome Extensions for Genetic Genealogy

I'm sure DNArboretum will become one of the Google Chrome extensions I use frequently. Other Chrome extensions I find invaluable are:
  • 529andYou, which is also from "neanderling": It adds functionality for 23andMe's Family Inheritance Advanced (FIA) and produces a list of matching segments for people with whom you "share genomes", sorted by chromosome and location. For more information, 23andMe users can check the 529andYou Thread.
  • 23++: Adds functionality to 23andMe by auto-matching surnames, giving total cM shared (rather than just the %), giving communication dates for pending requests, and color coding sharing status, among other things.
  • AncestryDNA Helper from Jeff Snavely, with instructions for using it Here. This one is a bit more complicated to use and the initial scanning of each kit takes a long time. But even if you don't bother with the full scans, it allows you to search on username and kit administrator (this is really useful if you are looking for a GEDmatch in your list of AncestryDNA matches, in order to link up the two), and has icons indicating common matches with other kits within your account (in addition to showing Mother and Father, which AncestryDNA now does, it identifies others too, including other kits shared with you).
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17 Comments
Natalie McLain
9/4/2015 18:04:14

Wow! Thank you for blogging about this extension and thanks to neanderling for creating it. It's so much easier to skim through the list of names than to deal with FTDNA's clunky tree.

Reply
Karen
9/4/2015 22:19:37

Thanks for linking to my discovery post! The extension could use a few rave reviews. Before mine that I just posted the rating was very sad. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/dnarboretum/oekcehcnbnfmeimggmkfliochkojkaej/reviews?utm_source=chrome-app-launcher-info-dialog

Reply
Sue Griffith (Genealogy Junkie) link
9/4/2015 23:59:10

I've just added a 5-star review too. It's unfortunate that the extension hasn't apparently been publicized previously, but hopefully that has now changed. Like you, I tend to focus more on specific locations, rather than names (most surnames aren't unusual enough to be particularly helpful and they "disappear" when females marry), but trying to search for these, one-by-one, on FTDNA trees, or not being able to search at all on the old-style 23andMe trees, was a lost opportunity. I'm afraid I'm really unimpressed with MyHeritage trees and now I can use DNArboretum, I really wish 23andMe didn't have a "relationship" with MyHeritage and that only the old-style trees were available. However, the main uphill battle we have is for people to include ANY genealogical information on the DNA-testing sites (even a rudimentary list of surnames and broad locations) – it is such a lost opportunity to stand any chance of identifying common ancestors. Thanks for mentioning about DNArboretum on the DNA-Newbie list!

Reply
Louis Kessler link
9/16/2015 21:05:37

The author, neanderling, has another Google Chrome browser add-on you might want to check out called 529andYou at: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/529andyou/nekcpognkifhchlmgddjajmaiplidfhn

Reply
Sue Griffith link
9/17/2015 04:17:17

I mentioned about 529andYou and other DNA-related Chrome extensions I use at the end of the posting. I find 529andYou helpful for quickly finding others with matching segments over the same location, in order to work out which matches triangulate, rather than having to go to my master Excel spreadsheet (which I haven't necessarily updated).

Reply
Robin Grantham
9/17/2015 13:55:08

Saw this on DNAAdoption and just now using it. Very nice! Thanks fro your step by step guidance.

Reply
Gene
10/2/2015 21:55:43

If downloading a gedcom is of interest, there's also Gedcom Solvent... so far only supports FTDNA. Next up is Gedmatch. https://github.com/gtorkelson/gedcom-solvent

Reply
Gene
10/5/2015 19:09:53

On the subject of "Other Extensions for Genetic Genealogy," I've just made an extension (compatible w/Chrome and Firefox) to export Gedcoms from FamilyTreeDNA and Gedmatch.com: "Gedcom Solvent". Find it at https://github.com/gtorkelson/gedcom-solvent . I hope you all will try it out. I'm using it to merge the trees of DNA matches and find duplicates in the assembled tree (aka common ancestors), which you can do in tools like FamilyTreeMaker and dnagedcom.com.

Reply
Claudia Doerfler link
12/3/2015 19:44:21

I was previously able to use the DNArboretum as of today 12-3-2015 it won't work. Now I can't get the list of people on the family tree to load on the Ahnentafel mode. Nothing happens. I saw the Adblock info and either I don't have it or I can't find it. HELP! what happened?

Reply
Sue Griffith link
12/3/2015 19:54:34

I had the same problem a couple of days ago – just a blank page. But then without changing anything (and no changes in blocking or other software), and using the same browser, everything worked. I wish I had an explanation – except for trying again sometime later, I'm afraid I don't have any suggestions, and certainly no explanation.

Reply
Robin Burns Hutchins
12/14/2015 19:03:11

I do not have Ad Block on my Windows 7 . What security protection do I need to disable to get DNArboretum to work? Thanks.

Reply
Sue Griffith link
12/14/2015 19:09:10

I've seen multiple people reporting problems over the last couple of weeks. I think someone indicated they had posted a question on the developer's page for the extension. All I can suggest is that you keep trying – see my comment on 12/4/15. I'm just a user and can't offer any advice about this, I'm afraid. Sorry!

Reply
Sue Griffith link
12/18/2015 02:47:48

A "fix" has just been released to get over the problems with the extension not working. You now need to acknowledge an extra popup window to circumvent a Chrome bug so that the tree will display.

Tanya link
2/13/2016 10:43:14

Your site appears to have taken you years to create, which also take a layperson years to sift through.
One simple question, in need of a simple answer. How would a female, using dna find her paternal matches?
If you can simplify that, wow.
Take Care,
Tanya
P.S. Please forgive the frustration, I've been looking for 35 years and am tired of sites that "talk over my head"

Reply
Sue Griffith link
2/13/2016 19:53:58

Tanya,

I know I have some pointers for you, but it would be helpful to have a better idea what you are looking for and if you have undergone any DNA tests. I've sent you a private email, so please respond to that.

Sue

Reply
Andreas Jansson
6/18/2016 01:06:32

Trying to follow the directions (I have no adblockers), clicking the msgbox to "circumvent the chome bug" I still got a blank page from the . But changing the view FamilyTreeDNA tree. But setting "Detailed view" to "ON" the list appeared!

Reply
Andreas Jansson
6/19/2016 06:59:18

Switching details OFF.. and it still worked. Obviously my solution was not complete. But try switching Detailed view OFF and ON, if you just see a blank page.

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