Visualise your family tree data in Aeon Timeline

If you manage a family tree using any of the available options (Ancestry, MacFamily Tree, My Heritage etc etc) then you may know that you can export a ‘Gedcom’ file from it that contains all of your family tree information. It is a plain text file but is not easy to read or interpret all of the complex information that it holds (it is only really intended to allow you to upload this information to an alternative family tree app). That is where tree2csv app comes in…you simply drop your gedcom file onto it and it will let you produce various csv files that contain structured data from your family tree. You can then easily use these csv files in other applications to continue your research.

An app that lends itself brilliantly to viewing and interpreting Family trees in a completely different way is Aeon Timeline (free trial available). Primarily an app for writers it can be used for absolutely anything at all.

This tutorial post is all about guiding you through the process of getting your family tree data into Aeon to allow you to view your ancestors and all related information in a variety of new ways! It may look like a lot of steps but if you follow along then you will have a fully interactive family timeline set up in no time!!

Step 1: Export your gedcom file

Log into whatever app you use to manage your family tree and find the option to export / publish your tree data to a Gedcom file.

If you want to follow along using some test data then you will find the files to do so in the Download section at the bottom of this tutorial.

Step 2: Create csv files from your gedcom file

Aeon Timeline allows us to import data from a CSV or a TSV file. It can’t do anything with a gedcom file. As such we need to first get our data into csv format.

Download tree2csv if you don’t already have it

Note: tree2csv is free to download to allow you to test compatability with your gedcom file. An in-app purchase ($5.99) is required to fully unlock the app. There are some alternative (and free) methods available for converting gedcom files though many require you to use the terminal app on your computer. They will also not give you the output information in as rich a way as tree2csv (or in a way that can be easily used with Aeon).

Drop your exported gedcom file onto the tree2csv app
Select a root person (this would usually be yourself). The root person information allows tree2csv to calculate some additional fields that will make your research in other apps much easier (e.g. a ‘kekulé’ value and assignment of individuals to a ‘Parental’ or ‘Maternal’ family line.
Export a csv for each of the options
- People (this will generate a csv with all individuals from your family tree)
- Events (this will generate a csv with various events that have been recorded - births, deaths, marriages, census entries and more). Note: For Events select the option to export events using a Single entry for marriages (as this will work better for us in Aeon - letting us share the same entry with the 2 parties).
- Families (this will generate a csv with family information - parents and children)
- Locations (this will generate a csv with details of all locations entered in the family tree)

Note: All exported information will only be as good as the information that is held in your tree. Incomplete information, or inconsistently formatted locations for example, will remain incomplete or inconsistent in the export.

Step 3: Import your csv data into Aeon Timeline

We will import all 4 of the files that we have just exported into Aeon Timeline. The information below is the suggested order to do so. This also uses a blank Aeon Timeline file that has been setup with my recommended settings.

Download and install Aeon Timeline if you haven’t already. There is a free trial available.
Download the sample Aeon file
Open the downloaded file in Aeon

As you become more familiar with Aeon Timeline you may find that you want to import your data in a different way and to use different fields and relationships etc than we are going to show here. There are a great many ways that you can use Aeon Timeline and I am just outlining one such approach to get you started!

Step 3a: Import your location data

We will start with our location data. The way it is exported from tree2csv allows us to build a location hierarchy in Aeon.

Select File > Import CSV or TSV
Select the Locations csv that has been exported from tree2csv
As we are importing location information first be sure to select the ‘Location’ option in the ‘Default rows to’ dropdown.
Set the Location ID column to import as Internal ID
Set the Location Name column to import as Label
Set the Parent column to import as Parent (if it hasn’t auto selected itself)
Click the ‘Next: Confirm data’ button
Click the ‘Import’ button (double check first that the message says that it will import your data as ‘new locations’ - if it is set to another type go back and fix it!)

You can view the imported information if you click on the Locations icon in the sidebar of Aeon. As mentioned previously this will only be as good as the information that is held on your family tree. Do not amend any location data at this stage. You can tidy up / rationalise your locations later if you need to.

Step 3b: Import your People data

Next we will add all of the individuals from the family tree into Aeon. Note: There are way more columns in the exported People csv than we will be actually importing into Aeon!

Select File > Import CSV or TSV
Select the People csv that has been exported from tree2csv
As we are importing person information first be sure to select the ‘Person’ option in the ‘Default rows to’ dropdown.
As our people data contains date values let’s also specify in the ‘Date format’ dropdown that they are in yyyy/mm/dd format (this is the format the tree2csv converts dates to for consistency)
Set the Person ID column to import as Internal ID
Set the Name column to Label
Set the Sex column to Color (in this set up of Aeon we are using colours to differentiate between genders and also events)
Set the Family line column to Family line (if not set already)
Set the Kekulé column to Kekulé (if not set already)
Set the Birth date column to Start Date
Set the Birth location ID column to Relationships > Birthplace
Set the Alive column to Ongoing
Set the Death date column to End date
Set the Parent ID(s) column to Relationships > Parent (and select box to ‘Create new items if no matching item found’)
Set the Spouse ID(s) column to Relationships > Spouse (and select box to ‘Create new items if no matching item found’)
Set the Sibling ID(s) column to Relationships > Sibling (and select box to ‘Create new items if no matching item found’)
Click the ‘Next: Confirm data’ button
Click the ‘Import’ button (double check first that the message says that it will import your data as ‘new people’ - if it is set to another type go back and fix it!)

Step 3c: Import your Events data

Next we will add all of the events (Births, Deaths, Marriages etc) from the family tree into Aeon. Note: Again, there are way more columns in the exported Events csv than we will be actually importing into Aeon!

Select File > Import CSV or TSV
Select the Events csv that has been exported from tree2csv
As we are importing event information first be sure to select the ‘Event’ option in the ‘Default rows to’ dropdown.
As our events data contains date values let’s also specify in the ‘Date format’ dropdown that they are in yyyy/mm/dd format (this is the format the tree2csv converts dates to for consistency)
Set the Person ID column to import as Relationships > Participant
Set the Kekulé column to Kekulé (if not set already)
Set the Family line column to Family line (if not set already)
Set the Event ID column to import as Internal ID
Set the Event Type column to Color (in this set up of Aeon we are using colours to differentiate between different event types)
Set the Title column to Label
Set the Event date column to Start Date
Set the Event end date column to End Date
Set the Address column to Address (if not set already)
Set the Event description column to Properties > Description
Set the Event cause column to Properties > Cause
Set the Source column to Source (if not set already)
Set the Location ID column to import as Relationships > Location
Set the Associated ID(s) column to import as Relationships > Associated

Step 3d: Import your Families data

Next we will add all of the families information. A lot of this information has already been imported however this next import will let us create groups of people which can be useful for filtering or viewing family events etc.

Select File > Import CSV or TSV
Select the Events csv that has been exported from tree2csv
As we are importing event information first be sure to select the ‘Family’ option in the ‘Default rows to’ dropdown.
Set the Family ID column to import as Internal ID
Set the Family Name column to import as Label
Set the Family line column to import as Parent (Note: you may need to switch this away from Family line here. The parent approach will nest our families under the Paternal or Maternal family lines if that data exists).
Set the All IDs column to import as Relationships > Member

Conclusion

That is all of your data added. Visit each of the different tabs in Aeon to see some different views that I have set up as examples. Explore these and then try creating some new views of your own. You can even build a family tree type visualisation by adding people to a Mindmap view for example!

Aeon is fairly complex to begin with (though since v3.5 it is a lot easier!) but spend a bit of time with their tutorials and example templates and you will get the hang of things. It really is an amazing tool and can be really beneficial when using it for continuing your genealogy research!!

Alternative approaches

Aeon Timeline is so flexible and adaptable that there are countless ways you could add and display your family tree data. Once you build some familiarity with the app then you will no doubt have some ideas about what would best suit your needs.

Here is one alternative idea that you may want to try. Instead of linking Events to People via the ‘Participant’ relationship you could nest the Event directly under the Person that it relates to. I actually think this produces a more intuitive and useful timeline in Aeon (i.e. when you select the option to include people and events in a Timeline view) but you do then lack the ability to have the same event show up under numerous people. Note: If you do want to try this approach then in the Events export in tree2csv do not select the option to output a single marriage entry as you would need that same event to be nested under 2 people (so need 2 events). In Aeon you would set the Person ID column of the imported Events file to be the Parent (as opposed to the Participant).

Downloads

Download the necessary files for working with this tutorial. The download includes a sample gedcom file that you can use if you don't have your own family tree gedcom file.

Download

Tree2csv Aeon tutorial

November 1, 2025