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DNA TIPS, TOOLS, & MANAGING MATCHES

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DNA Double Helix
"Autosomal DNA testing will not magically find your ancestors. You will need to work at it ..." (from What to Do with Your DNA Test, by Kitty Cooper)
Once I initially received my DNA results, I found it a bit overwhelming for what I should do next and how to actually go about sifting through the hundreds (in some cases) and thousands (in another) potential matches. Here are a few tips based on my experience for what to do in broad terms for each of the tests, in order to increase the odds of finding genetic matches and new relatives by having your DNA data in multiple places – and importantly, to weed out those matches that are probably irrelevant to you as soon as possible. Dealing with DNA matches is time-consuming, so don't waste time where you don't need to – try to focus in on the most relevant, and especially those that are the "low hanging fruit" (I haven't had any of those yet!).

There is a lot of (free) help and information out there – and I'm happy to help my new cousins where I can too! It should be easier for us to make some progress when we know we already know we are (or are likely to be) related based on our genealogy research (i.e., we are known or likely genealogical cousins), rather than trying to sift through DNA matches in order to try and establish the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) and find out how we are related.

I started this page when I was new to DNA testing, to keep track of things for myself, but it has grown to be FAR too large and needs to be split up and reorganized. However, I'm not sure when I'll get around to that, I'm afraid! 

If you're pretty new to all of this, I highly recommend you read the 16 (maybe more now) short "lessons" by Kelly Wheaton in her Beginner's Guide to Genetic Genealogy. It will be much easier for you to start to go through your DNA tests if you read these first. The lessons also show you how to do things and find things on FamilyTreeDNA (FTDNA), 23andMe, and AncestryDNA. Kelly is already updating these frequently, as new relevant information becomes available, or as the testing companies tweak their websites.

In general (and if a specific research hypothesis isn't being tested), I see it that there are several groups of DNA matches for atDNA:
  1. Matches (known from traditional genealogy research) who you co-ordinated testing together, or who you recognize based on username and so can easily identify the common ancestor.
  2. Matches shown with a likely close relationship to you (say, 2nd-4th cousin – or even siblings/half-siblings/aunt/uncle or 1st cousins if you are adopted and lucky) and you don't know who they are – these are the people we are all hoping to find. Hopefully these won't be the all-too-frequent "Anonymous" people on 23andMe, especially if they don't respond to an invitation to share genomes or respond to requests for information such as surnames or locations (SO frustrating! – so-far, these have been my best matches on 23andMe). Ideally they will have provided ancestor/location information and a GEDcom, to make it easier to identify the common ancestor.
  3. The hopeful matches, not necessarily with a particularly close relationship (e.g., 3rd-5th cousins), but who have a reasonably long matching DNA segment(s) or a match in a chromosome region you are particularly interested in based on other matches – and especially if geographical locations and/or surnames look promising.
  4. Those with short-segment matches and low number of matching SNPs, as these are more likely to be just be Identical by State (IBS – i.e., by random chance), rather than Identical by Descent (IBD – i.e., you are genetic cousins). When starting out, it's particularly difficult to know the length of segments (in cM) and the number of SNPs (short-nucleotide polymorphisms) to focus on – matches reported by the companies tend to use a combination of cM and SNPs. Definitely look at the table in the section Identical by Descent Segments (near the bottom of the ISOGG wiki page Autosomal DNA Statistics). In general, don't bother with anything shorter than 7 cM (although you can probably lower this a little if you have a known relationship with someone).
  5. Those that cannot be related and that can definitely or probably be pretty confidently excluded – don't waste time and energy on those (unless there is a special situation, such as a brick wall, possible "non-paternity"/mis-attributed paternity event [so-called NPEs = "Non-Paternal Events", Non-Parental Events", or "Not the Parent Expected"!], or being potentially related down >1 line, or in the event that the "matchee" has provided genealogical information, such as an ancestor surname or specific location of interest).
#1 you already know, and few from #2 will be relatively quick and easy (and result in the "happy dance" – ENJOY), so devote most of your time to the rest of #2 and #3. Weed out #4 and #5 as quickly as possible, or you will get totally bogged down and disillusioned. Initially I thought that having a lot of matches was a good thing – but I'd much prefer to have much fewer, but "high quality" matches. I suggest you look at Maurice Gleeson's YouTube video below (also available Here), starting at about 27:30 (27 minutes into it), as he outlines some ways you may be able to "whittle down your ancestral cards", to focus your research for a particular match with a very specific branch.  
 

Secrets to Success

These were taken from a presentation by Maurice Gleeson at the 2014 Who Do You Think You Are? Conference, London with respect to autosomal DNA (see YouTube video opposite – there's some background noise, but don't let that put you off):
  • Start with your closest matches
  • Share your tree
  • Develop a relationship with your matches
  • Keep track of what you've done

I have 3 other tips (especially if you are relatively new to all of this):
  • Familiarize yourself with Autosomal DNA Statistics and Identical by Descent (IBD) (ISOGG wiki)
  • Follow Maurice Gleeson's tips in his YouTube video opposite, as he has a lot of useful approaches, especially for eliminating non-contenders. I wish this had been available when I was a total beginner – I've eventually fumbled my way through to doing the same things.
  • Read 20 Do's and Don'ts of DNA (Roots Revealed blog by Melvin Collier, 15 Jan 2015) – this is a great list and the advice given is absolutely essential to working out the genealogical connection with people on your match list
Step-by-Step Approach to Analyzing Your atDNA Matches (55:07)

My Tips by Testing Company 

FamilyTreeDNA (FTDNA)
Note: Changes to the website on 2 October 2013 might mean that various features are now accessed in a slightly different way, so screenshots and instructions in various postings may not be current.
23andMe:
Note: Changes to the website in September 2013 might mean that various features are now accessed in a slightly different way, so screenshots and instructions in various postings may not be current.
  • Upload DNA data (atDNA + X-DNA) to GEDMatch.com (free – see #3 below) – this is ESSENTIAL and  first of all you need to download your raw DNA data from 23andMe (see Download Raw Data)
  • Watch the YouTube videos on using 23andMe shown at Presentations on DNA Testing
  • Download spreadsheet for where you match all your matches using DNAGedcom.com (free – see #4 below) – UPDATE 23andMe previously had no tool to do this on their website to do more advanced matching, but as of ~July 2014 there is now a link on Family Inheritance: Advanced (just above "Explanation of Terminology") to Download All Shared Segments. You receive an e-mail once this is available (if it doesn't appear to come through within about 10 minutes, check your Spam folder). But note that if you use DNAGedcom.com that not only can you see (from the AF, Ancestry Finder file) your own matching segments with those with whom you "share genomes", you can also see the same for all each of these matches' lists too (maybe request sharing with some of your matches' shares too, if they are also on your match list) 
  • If you have tested on the version 3 or 4 chips of 23andMe (sold after ~November 2010), consider a "transfer" (actually duplication of your results) of your data to FamilyTreeDNA (FTDNA), which allows you to fish in another pond for matches. It is free to obtain your match list (including email addresses) and only $19 for access to all the tools (previously it was $39 and earlier was $69, so $19 is amazing value). It's not possible to transfer Y-DNA or mtDNA.
  • Take a look at the webpage Starter Page: 23andMe (Part 2) and Navigating 23andMe for Genealogy (Roberta Estes, 7 Jun 2013).

AncestryDNA:
  • Upload atDNA [and X-DNA] data to GEDMatch.com (free – see #3 below) – this is ESSENTIAL, but first of all you need to download your raw DNA data (see Instructions and Download Raw Data; AncestryDNA is the last company covered)
  • Watch the YouTube videos on using AncestryDNA shown at Presentations on DNA Testing
  • Consider a "transfer" (actually duplication of your results) of your data to FamilyTreeDNA (FTDNA), which allows you to fish in another pond for matches. It is free to obtain your match list (including email addresses) and only $19 for access to all the tools (previously it was $39 and earlier was $69, so $19 is amazing value).
  • This is IMPORTANT, as one of the main laments everyone has with AncestryDNA is that they don't have a chromosome browser or any other was of comparing DNA data with matches. Ask any promising close cousin matches if they have tested with any of the other sites and if so, find out their username or kit number (as appropriate). Encourage them to upload their data to GEDmatch.com (provide them the link and don't forget to tell them it's free – see #3 below) and give you their GEDmatch number and also encourage them to pay for a "transfer" (more accurately is "copying") of their data to FamilyTreeDNA (again, provide details and the cost) and to let you know their details once they have done these.

Genographic Geno2.0:
  • Read CeCe Moore's article My Geno 2.0 Results: Step-by-Step
  • Transfer your Y-DNA and mtDNA results to Family Tree DNA using the instructions Here (free) – I think there is also a way to do this directly from the Geno2.0 results page, but since I've already transferred the results for me and my father, this option has disappeared
  • Join a Y-DNA Haplogroup Project and mtDNA Haplogroup Project – see also Surname, Lineage and Geographical Projects
  • You can download your raw data (includes Y-DNA, mtDNA [only differences from the reference sequence], and some atDNA and X-chromosome SNPs), but it isn't very obvious where to do this:
    - Login to your account
    - Left-click on little person icon (at the very top right of the page), which takes you to "My Profile"
    - Go to the first tab, My Results
    - At the bottom, under Expert Options, check the box to Agree to Terms, then click on the Download.csv button
NOTE: If you are considering deep-clade testing to find the terminal paternal haplogroup SNP (short nucleotide polymorphism), being tested at Geno2.0 (which will give specific the specific Y-DNA haplogroup for males, although no STR [short tandem repeat] results) and specific maternal haplogroup for both males and females) may be a less expensive alternative than paying for individual SNPs, but check with your FTDNA Project Administrator if you are unsure.

Lists of Geno2.0 SNPs tested [except mtDNA, as only differences from the reference sequence are provided in the results] are available on the Downloads tab and here [NOTE: This needs to be updated, as there is a "next generation" updated test.]:

ALL Testing Companies (except Genographic 2.0)
  • Join the Yahoo! DNA-Newbie Mailing List  – I subscribe to the "digest", rather than for individual messages, so everything is pooled to about 2 per e-mails day, as the group is very active. The name is a bit of a misnomer, as it implies that it is very basic, but that's not the case. It is suitable for both newbies to genetic genealogy and for those looking for more specific and technical information, and you have the opportunity to ask questions. You have to join the (free) International Society of Genetic Genealogists (ISOGG) first.
  • Join the Rootsweb GENEALOGY-DNA mailing list – I joined for the "digest", rather than for individual messages, so everything is pooled to about 2 e-mails per day, as the group is very active (reportedly with about 2,000 messages per month)
  • Join the Yahoo! Tools for Adoption and DNA Mailing List – Even if you're not adopted, this list is helpful for everyone interested in DNA testing.
  • Start making spreadsheets (using Microsoft Excel is best, but there are other programs and tools that are free) and then you can map your matches, even when they have tested at different companies. See my webpage on DNA Spreadsheets! and #2, #20, and #23 below for free mapping and plotting tools.
  • Identify which of your ancestors you could have inherited X-chromosome DNA from – the inheritance pattern is slightly complicated and is different for males and females, but once you get the grasp of it, it is very helpful, and can also help to identify (and exclude) certain branches for your DNA results. See X-DNA Inheritance Charts, Templates available for Download, and X-Chromosome DNA Resources (below).
  • Encourage other relatives to be tested, especially your parents and other relatives of their generation (their siblings and cousins) and older if they are alive (but also siblings, nephews/nieces if you are unable to test parents) and cousins near and distant. With respect to testing parents and older generations in particular, it makes it so much easier to be able to assign particular segments of DNA to either your paternal or maternal line. Don't regret not asking them after it's too late.

Tools and Utilities (DNA)

​Note that these aren't in any particular order, as I started the list when I was new to DNA testing and so I added them as I came across them. Most are free.
  1. AncestryDNA Extension for Chrome browser from Jeff Snavely, with instructions at How to Use the AncestryDNA Helper extension for the Chrome Browser. This makes searching for potential matches on Ancestry so much easier and downloads all your matches into an Excel spreadsheet. [See Making AncestryDNA Useful (from the Legal Genealogist) for some details. But note: The screenshots were before AncestryDNA made some improvements, but the extension, which has since had a few updates, still allows so much more to be done, with download to a spreadsheet, than the tools that Ancestry provides]. Free, but hidden away (pretty much buried) there are details for making a donation – after trying it the first time, I instantly made a donation. More details, download of the file, and Jeff's e-mail address are available Here – suggest you e-mail Jeff, so you are on his list for being informed when there are updates.
  2. Chromosome Mapping Tool, Segment Mapper, and One Chromosome Mapper from Kitty Cooper – free, but there is a request to make a small donation ($5-$10) if you find it useful. See also Kitty's blog posting Making a Spreadsheet of Autosomal DNA.
  3. GEDmatch.com: Volunteer-run free website (but please make a donation, as this site is absolutely amazing and run by highly experienced genetic genealogy volunteers) allowing you to upload your raw autosomal DNA data from FamilyTreeDNA, 23andMe and AncestryDNA and has a variety of tools for matching – see Using GEDmatch (from DNA Adoption – note also Download Raw Data from the same website), How to upload your FTDNA results to GEDmatch (DNA and Family Tree Research, Maurice Gleeson), Third Party Tools: GEDmatch (Genealogy for the Everyman), Using GEDmatch, What to Do at the GEDmatch Site (Kitty Cooper), and GEDmatch: a DNA Geek’s Dream Site (Legal Genealogist, Judy Russell) – the latter is slightly outdated, in that AncestryDNA does now allow downloads of raw data. Angie Bush's YouTube video GEDmatch Basics (Apr 2015) is a must if you are new to GEDmatch. Tier 1 tools (see Here for some links) became available on GEDmatch in October 2014 for the modest cost of $10/month, but the majority of the site is totally free.
  4. DNAGedcom.com: Allows download of your Family Finder (atDNA) data from FTDNA (see Generate your Data Files from FTDNA at DNAGedcom) and also downloads all your data for Family Inheritance Advanced, Relative Finder and Ancestry Finder (from 23andMe). You have to provide your log-in information for each of these sites, but the information is not stored – it is used only to provide your downloaded information. This is an ESSENTIAL website with multiple tools. Also free, with a request for a donation. This site now also hosts the Autosomal DNA Segment Analyzer (ADSA) [see #23 below], GedComUtility (GCU) [see #24 below], and JWorks (for if you have Excel) and KWorks (if you don't have Excel) [see #27 below]. Everything on the main DNAGedcom.com site is free, although donations are appreciated, but the new DNAGedcom Client [see #33 below] has a small subscription. 
  5. MitoSearch: With thousands of people that have tested their mtDNA with different companies, MitoSearch.org is a free public service that allows individuals who have tested with those companies to make their results available for comparison and to search for HVR1 and HVR2 mutations. A tool also allows a side-by-side comparison of different users.
  6. YSearch: Similar concept to MitoSearch (above), but for Y-DNA. Can search by last name, for genetic matches, and by haplogroup, and then to make contact with others (via the website). Allows upload of GEDcom files. Has almost 90,000 surnames, 100,000 unique haplotypes, and 130,000 records.
  7. Y chromosome Haplotype Reference Database: Can search for matches by haplotype and apparently includes allele statistics to get an idea how common or rare the results are.
  8. Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation Y-DNA Database: Can search the SMGF site for Y-DNA matches by entering results on the website. Has the option to save searches. 
  9. Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation mtDNA Database: The same as #8 but for mt-DNA matches.
  10. mtDNA Community: Free public service, aiming to facilitate the further understanding of the human mtDNA phylogeny.
  11. Phylotree.org: Comprehensive phylogenetic tree of global human mitochondrial DNA variation.
  12. James Lick's Haplogroup Analysis site, which (currently) uses a more recent update of PhyloTree (currently Build 15) than 23andMe (Build 7), FTDNA (Build 14), and Genographic Geno2.0 (Build 13).
  13. David Pike's Free Utilities (10 of them) for processing unzipped autosomal files from Family Tree DNA and/or 23andMe, developed by David to perform advanced analysis of atDNA – includes checks for runs of heterozygous sequences (long sequences of CG or AT means there is always a match with everyone and can therefore result in false matches), runs of homozygosity (ROHs; longer ROHs tend to be found if your parents are related in some way), search for differently reported SNPs (for example, when tested at 2 different companies)
  14. 23++ Chrome Extension: Adds functionality to 23andMe when using Google Chrome. Auto-matches surnames, gives total cM shared [rather than just the %], and gives communication dates for pending requests, among other things.
  15. FTDNA GED to GEDcom Converter: James Kelley has made available a free tool that converts family trees found with some matches at FTDNA Family Finder to gedcoms – see Here for additional instructions. [NOTE: I'm not sure if this still works with the new interactive trees on FTDNA (change occurred in in September 2014) – if you know, please Contact Me.] Once dowloaded, the file can be imported into your genealogical software program, or alternatively, you can just look over it as an RTF file, or run searches for locations or surnames. It's very easy to view as an RTF – all you have to do is go to wherever you have downloaded the file on your computer and manually change the file extension from ".ged" to ".rtf" (for example, if the original file is "John Doe.ged", just manually change it to "John Doe.rtf" and ignore the message warning you that changing the filename extension may make it unusable) and you can then open this newly named file in MS Word. I tend to initially just run searches on "England", "Scotland", "Wales", and "Isle of Man" to see if anything might be relevant.
  16. GenBank: Consider adding your mtDNA full sequence from FTDNA (note: only full sequence results can be used) to this NIH database. For more information see ISOGG Page on GenBank, Ian Logan's pages on Submitting mt Full Sequence to GenBank (he will help) or Making your Own Submission File for GenBank (I did the latter and found it was straightforward, although it had multiple steps – but probably >90% of people would take a look and think it is too complicated for them, even though it isn't!). See Roberta Estes' article The mtDNA Community for more details on GenBank.
  17. DNAMatch4iPad: I haven't tested this, but apparently it is an alternative to the use of conventional spreadsheets for the processing of autosomal DNA data
  18. Firebug Lite for Google Chrome extension: See CeCe Moore's instructions for how to Extract Start and Stop Points for Ancestry Composition in 23andMe – I tried this (and it worked), but I didn't like the way Firebug couldn't permanently be turned off, so I removed the extension. But if you're interested in ancestry composition, you may want to try it.
  19. openSNP: Allows customers of genetic tests to publish their results, find others with similar genetic variations, but also allows others to download your raw data. You can use a pseudonym. I haven't heard much about this site, so all I'm doing is mentioning it (not necessarily recommending it).
  20. Excel DNA Segment Grapher: Don Worth has made an Excel file available for download (and has given instructions), which is fantastic for plotting all your DNA matches for individual chromosomes and having the data alongside. Don't miss the actual spreadsheet available at #5 (which I PDF'd and uploaded to my public Dropbox folder Here, for those who don't have Excel). There is no limit on how many matches you can plot together. See also #23 below (also from Don Worth.)
  21. Phasing Tools: The ISOGG Wiki provides information about phasing (on autosomal or X-chromosome DNA) and provides methods and links to programs written by Tim Janzen and David Pike. GEDmatch.com (#3 above) also allows you to phase your data (if you also have one or both parents tested) for matching purposes, but you can't download their output of the phased results.
  22. 529andYou Chrome Extension: Adds functionality for 23andMe's Family Inheritance Advanced (FIA), which only works if using Chrome as the browser. Produces a list of matching segments for people you "share genomes" with, sorted by chromosome and location. For more information 23andMe users can check the 529andYou Thread. See also Using the Chrome Tool: 529andYou (Becky Walker, 16 Mar 2014) – 529andYou has been incorporated into Genome Mate (see #25 below).
  23. Autosomal DNA Segment Analyzer (ADSA) from Don Worth: An amazing, free, web-based tool, which quickly and easily tabulates and plots all the DNA segments (both autosomal DNA and X-chromosome DNA) you and your matches from Family Tree DNA (FTDNA) and, more recently from GEDmatch, and also includes a color-coded "in common with" (ICW) matrix, without needing to understand anything about a spreadsheet! You end up with an interactive webpage with all your specific segment information (start, end, segment length in cM, and # of SNPs) plotted for you, which can be saved as a stand-alone file that will function off-line and can also be sent to relatives via e-mail, which is especially useful if you manage other people's accounts. See the specific webpage about this, with detailed instructions: ADSA Tool: No Spreadsheets Required! and ADSA is Now Available for GEDmatch Kits! Don Worth also developed a single chromosome segment plotter – see #20 above.
  24. GedComUtility (GCU) from DNAAdoption.com: allows comparisons of GEDcom files. Can be run using Windows 7 or Windows-XP, but does not work on a MAC – this was available in ~2013 and with various changes made to FTDNA's trees, I'm not sure if it still works.
  25. Genome Mate Pro from Becky Walker: An AMAZINGLY useful desktop tool used to organize in one place the data collected from FTDNA, 23andMe, and GEDmatch. Besides data storage it has many features to aid in identifying common ancestors. It takes time to upload data from GEDmatch, 23andMe, FTDNA, and Ancestry and there is a learning curve. The Genome Mate Pro page has links for videos and the User Guide.
  26. Genetic Genealogy Tools from Felix Immanuel (formerly Felix Chandrakumar): Has a variety of atDNA, mtDNA, Y-DNA, ad X-DNA tools and all are open-source. Includes DNA Fix Error (attempts to fix errors and no-calls comparing multiple DNA files of the same person tested through different companies), Phasing Utility, and even a tool to Create an Artificial Ancestor DNA Profile. I have tried the 23andMe to YSNPs,  ISOGG Y-Tree AddOn for Google Chrome, and most recently (Jan 2015) the new GEDmatch Plus for Google Chrome. The latter of these is a Google Chrome extension available (free) Here, which automatically caches your one-to-many, one-to-one, and X one-to-many analyses for 7 days and helps to reduce the load on the servers; if you save the output as a bookmark, you can access these even if GEDmatch is "down". Cache is enabled (the default – and cleared, if required) under Settings. [Note to self: test more of Felix's tools.]
  27. JWorks (if you have Excel) and KWorks (if you don't have Excel), available on the Autosomal Tools tab at DNAGedcom, for working with data from Family Tree DNA (FTDNA). The link to the instructions for these is JWorks(v0.509) and KWorks for FTDNA Data: Automated Chromosome Browser Tools (PDF). I haven't tried these yet!
  28. DNA Family Tree Builder: States "Ability to generate a FTDNA type MATRIX for all people into an Excel (CSV) file from both 23andMe people and FTDNA people" and "Naive Family Tree Builder: Clusters people with shared DNA into proposed family group based on simple logic (if A shares with B and both A and B share with me — then A and B (and me) likely share a single common ancestor that C,D,E do not have!)". I haven't tried this yet or heard very much about it.
  29. ADNA Utility (Autosomal DNA Utility – also available Here) created by T. Wesley Erikson: ADNA is a utility for working with autosomal DNA data using downloads from Family Tree DNA and 23andMe (or from DNAGedcom.com downloads – see #4. above). "ADNA reads the downloaded file into a grid, sorts the data by segment size in centiMorgans and discards any matches that do not meet the user-configurable threshold (set to 5 centiMorgans by default). It then iterates through the data, performing a brute-force comparison by chromosome and segment location, identifying overlapping segments. Each name in the grid is arbitrarily assigned a color ... ". See Manual written by T. Wesley Erikson and Charles Warthen for more details. [Note to self: to test.]
  30. Ancestry List Grabber, available on DNAAdoption.com. This was originally developed by Gaye Tannenbaum and has been modified by Gale French and Diane Harman-Hoog. With this, you can extract all the names from an Ancestry tree using a macro in Excel. All you have to do is insert the Ancestry tree ID (e.g., the URL of my Ancestry tree is http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/19191953/........., so the tree ID is 19191953), the number of people in the tree (to find this, go to the pull-down list next to the "find a person in this tree" search box at the top right and select List of All People, which will show the total number in the tree), and the total number of pages (divide the total number of people by 100 and round up to the next whole number), then click on the yellow "Get Names" box. This has a number of enhancements compared with the original version (such as providing a hyperlink of each name, and splitting out the following as separate columns: last name, first name, date of birth, place of birth, date of death, and place of death). However, it is much slower than Gaye's original version (especially for large trees) and I did find it seized up with some trees. If you are a member of the Yahoo! group AdoptionDNA Tools, the original version is available Here.
  31. Family Finder Common Matches Circle and Graph by Göran Runström and Staffan Betnér are interesting ways of looking at ICW (in common with) data from FTDNA's Family Finder test (autosomal DNA). The instructions for creating are in the Quick Guide at the bottom of the page. For more details, see Here. Try lowering the browser zoom (Ctrl and "-" symbol, which can be done multiple times – to go larger, use Ctrl and "+" symbol) if the names are overlying each other.
  32. Interpretome is a secure personal genome interpretation engine for education and research purposes. The full paper describing this is Krczewski KJ et al., Pac Symp Biocomput 339-350 (2012). [Note to self: to test.]
  33. DNAGedcom Client is a new Windows and Mac application from DNAGedcom.com [see #4 above], which runs on your own computer. It will import AncestryDNA data into a Matches csv file and an Ancestors of Matches csv file; the Windows version also has the capability to download 23andMe data as well as the new Shared Matches (ICW) from AncestryDNA. Unlike the main DNAGedcom.com website, there is a small subscription to use the Client ($5/month or $50/year), but it's well worth it. 
  34. MorganSense from Robert Liguori is a relation prediction utility, which takes the centiMorgans (cM) value of two people (for example, from FTDNA, 23andMe, or GEDMatch) and predicts your relationship.
  35. DNA.Land, launched in October 2015, is a free, non-profit, crowd-sourced project run by academics affiliated with Columbia University and the NY Genome Center, and is in partnership with the National Breast Cancer Coalition, NBCC. It accepts autosomal DNA data files from AncestryDNA, 23andMe, and FTDNA and imputes your genome (that is, converts it to a more complete sequence [39 million SNPs!], even though only ~0.5-0.75 million have been sequenced), which opens the possibility of seeing genetic variations that were not part of the original file. By sharing your data, this enables scientists to make new discoveries for the benefit of everyone. In return, you receive information about your ancestry and have the option to find relatives based on DNA matching. At the time of writing this, the site is too new for me to comment on how useful it is with regards to DNA matching, but it certainly won't replace GEDmatch [#3 above]. I've adopted a suggestion on a message board posting (?from Kitty Cooper) and included my GEDmatch kit number as part of my first name.
  36. Relationship Estimator Tool (download Here) – see documentation from DNAAdoption and Roberta Estes' Blog Posting (22 Feb 2016). The great thing about this tool is that it takes into account the differences in shared DNA reported by AncestryDNA versus other companies (23andMe/FTDNA/GEDmatch). This is a really neat tool.​
  37. Grandparent Inheritance Chart Tool from LegacyTree Genealogists – free chromosome mapping tool see their Blog posting for an example.
  38. Genome Mate Pro (GMP) has the modest tag line "A Tool for ManagingDNA Comparisons", which was developed by Beckins LLC. It is an incredibly powerful program, which allows all aspects of data from all the testing companies, together with correspondence, to be amalgamated and managed in one place. How I wish I had started using this right from the start. Although it is complicated to set up, is is WELL WORTH the time and effort. I can't speak highly enough about this program – it is a must for anyone who is serious about DNA testing and allows multiple profiles to be managed. GMP is free, but donations are accepted (and personally, because of all the effort by the developer, if you use this program, I say shame on you if you don't make one or more donations!). I recommend Leah Larkin's (The DNA Geek) series of blog postings, Getting Started with Genome Mate Pro.
  39. Steven Fox's Visual Phasing Spreadsheet (Excel, only available for Windows) is available from the file downloads section of the Visual Phasing Working Group on Facebook and makes it super-quick and easy to download GEDmatch images for visual phasing. See Steven's video demonstration.
  40. DNA Painter (from Jonny Perl) has become an invaluable website for genetic genealogists, for all of the following: Chromosome Mapping/Painting (see Blaine Bettinger's YouTube Video, Mapping Your Chromosomes with DNA Painter), the Shared cM Project (I use this most days) and for the What Are the Odds? (WATO?). The WATO tool uses the shared cM from multiple matches to work out probabilities – it's very quick and intuitive. See The DNA Geek's Blog posting, Science the Heck Out of your DNA, Part 7 for additional information on WATO (don't miss the links at the bottom of this posting).
  41. Visualising Ancestry DNA matches – series of blog postings by Shelley Crawford (Twigs of Yore blog) showing how to produce network diagrams using a free Excel-based network analysis tool (NodeXL) from data downloaded from AncestryDNA using DNAGedcom (see #33 above). Shelley also has another blog posting DIY Ancestry DNA Circles using NodeXL, which also sounds interesting. [Note to self: to test.] ​
  42. MapS Phasing (from HendrikWendland) – these are more advanced tools:
    - MapS Converter (free) calculates genetic distances, converts between Builds 36 and 37
    - MapS Phasing ($14.99/year) allows phasing your DNA data and will reconstruct a non-tested parent  [Note to self: to test.] 
  43. DNA Science (Brit Nicholson) – this site has some interesting tools: Relationship Predictor, Multiple Cousin Predictor, and DNA Coverage Calculator.
  44. HAPI-DNA – another site with some interesting tools. Also some useful blog postings, for example How often do two relatives share DNA? and How often do two half-relatives share DNA?, which both include percentage breakdowns across segment counts.
  45. SNP Tracker alows creation of some great maps for both Y-DNA and mtDNA haplogroups.
See also a detailed presentation covering several of these tools Understanding Third Party DNA Testing Results Analysis Tools (James R Lannin of the Genetic Genealogy Special Interest Group of The Villages Genealogical Society, FL, 12 Dec 2014). 

Other Tools (Non-DNA)

These tools aren't related to DNA, but may be useful in combination with some of the DNA tools above.
  1. GEDxlate (Free): "GEDxlate quickly and easily translates genealogy data from standard GEDCOM format into MS Access dB (*.mdb), MS Excel Worksheet (*.xls), comma delimited (*.csv), and text file (*.txt) formats. Pick a GEDCOM file to translate; select which fields you want to include in your dB, spreadsheet, csv, or txt file; choose an output format and file name to save the translated data in; and you're there!" Thanks to Diane Harman-Hoog for mentioning this (see DNAAdoption Message Topic 44588, 21 Feb 2015). Diane indicates: Install the file; Hover over the buttons along the top edge; One of the asks you to choose a downloaded gedcom, and then it will ask for the Excel file to save it to; When you open the file in Excel, it may give you an error message, but ignore this. Note to self: try this!
  2. Batchgeo (Free): Another recommendation from Diane Harman-Hoog (DNAAdoption Message Topic 44761, 24 Feb 2015; see #1 above too): Diane indicates that this program allows you to turn a spreadsheet of ancestors into a map, and on-line you can expand and contract the map and click on the little flags for additional information including name, place and since it was in the spreadsheet, birth date (flags are [or can be] color coded by range of birth date). The website provides a spreadsheet template and indicates that the output can be saved to a webpage. Note to self: try this!
  3. FTAnalyzer (Free, I think): see the webpage for the software features. Note to self: try this!
  4. DNArboretum (Free): This is a Google Chrome extension from "neanderling" which extracts information from trees on FTDNA, or the old-style (pre-MyHeritage) trees at 23andMe, and presents it as a list in Ahnentafel format. There are 4 modes for the output: Autosomal, X-chromosome, Mitochondrial (Maternal Haplogroup), and Y-DNA (Paternal Haplogroup). I blogged about it at DNArboretum: A Great Free Google Chrome Extension for Viewing Trees on 23andMe (Old-Style Trees) and FTDNA (4 Sept 2015).
  5. Exploring Family Trees (Free): Absolutely amazing, unique presentation of family trees (both ancestor and descendant trees) created from a gedcom file (which isn't uploaded anywhere – everything is done on your computer). Very quick (<5 minutes) and very easy to use and the trees are stunning. I recommend you use a complete gedcom of your whole family tree, as you can pick any individual out of it to create the various presentations. I will definitely be using this a LOT, as it's very easy to show cousins, old and newly discovered, exactly how all of you are related, all on a single screen.
  6. ZoomPast Genealogy (free): "ZoomPast is a new and unique way to share genealogies. Just Zoom in and out, like you would a map." See ZoomPast YouTube Video. Note to self: try this!​
  7. Ahnentafel to GEDCOM Converter (free): from Kitty Cooper
  8. Lucid Chart: (subscription-based, with free version) Web-based flowchart maker, useful for creating diagrams to show, for example, the relationships between various DNA matches.
  9. WinGeno – Free software to create diagrams of family constellations in form of genograms.

Interpretation

Articles relating to interpretation of your data:

How to Manage Matches

A few articles for how to make comparisons with your matches, but note that changes to the 23andMe and FTDNA websites in September/October 2013 might mean that various features are now accessed in a slightly different way, so screenshots and instructions in various postings may not be current:
 
DNAAdoption has several in-depth articles and tools, which although developed primarily for adoptees, are also useful for everyone:

Lists of Links

Autosomal DNA Resources

X-Chromosome Resources


Note: An important comment I noticed in some discussions on the DNA-Newbie Discussion Group (which extends well beyond "newbie" in terms of technicality) is that X-chromosome segments may remain longer (in cM) for more generations than is recognized for autosomal DNA segments, depending on how many males are in the chain from a distant ancestor to whoever is being tested. The X-chr. inherited by a female from her father is passed on from him unchanged (the sex chromosomes in males are XY and therefore recombination with another X-chr. cannot occur), in contrast to the X-chr. inherited from her mother (who has two X-chrs., thereby allowing recombination to occur before the X-chr. is passed to her daughter). The maximum number of males in the "X-chr. DNA chain" from you to the distant ancestor is the situation of alternating male-female-male-female zig-zagging; there can never be 2 adjacent males in the chain, although there could be any number of adjacent females. A long segment (cM) could mean the common ancestor is up to twice as far back in time (on average) than would be the case with autosomal estimates, so estimating generation times is extremely unreliable for X-chr. DNA based on size alone.

Note: Thresholds on 23andMe for X (Source: ISOGG Wiki):
     X (male vs male): 200 SNPs, 1 cM
     X (male vs female): 600 SNPs, 6 cM
     X (female vs female): 1200 SNPs, 6 cM

Y-Chromosome Resources

mtDNA Resources

Other Resources and Articles



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