Sending a Sync Error Report (sometimes also called a “Sync Error Log”) will help us determine exactly what is causing the issue you are experiencing when using FamilySync®.
Please note that while the FamilySync Report dialog automates the sending of sync error reports, in most cases these reports are used by our engineers for diagnostic purposes and we do not respond to them individually.
If you are having repeated sync failures, please make sure to send or gather a sync error report using the instructions below, then click here to come to live chat to work with an agent directly so we can help you fix the problem.
How do I generate and send a Sync Error Report for FTM 2017 or FTM 2019?
This article describes three different ways to gather and send the sync error information:
- Using the FamilySync Report dialog
- Gathering the Sync Reports Manually (Windows)
- Gathering the Sync Reports Manually (Mac)
Using the FamilySync Report dialog
The easiest way to generate and send a Sync Error Report is to use the FamilySync Report dialog. This will create a report and deliver it to our technical support team automatically. You can access the dialog in two ways:
- If an error occurs during syncing, the FamilySync Report dialog will open automatically.
You just need to enter your name and email address and click the Send Sync Report button.
- You can open the dialog at any time by choosing Send Sync Error Report from the Help menu.
Enter your name and email address, select a Time Range option*, add a description of the problem if possible (the more detail you can provide, the better it will help us to pinpoint the cause and find a solution), and then click the Send Sync Report button.
*If you are unsure of the period you should choose from the Time Range drop-down list, follow these recommendations:
- Most Recent: Choose this option if a sync error occurred during your current or most recent sync.
- Last 1 Hour, Last 12 Hours, Last 24 Hours: Choose one of these options if a sync error occurred during the period indicated.
- All Logs: Use this option if you are regularly experiencing sync errors and would like to provide an extended report that includes all of the sync logs on your computer.
Gathering the Sync Reports Manually (Windows)
If you cannot use the automated FamilySync Report described above for any reason, there is a workaround that will allow you to gather the sync information from your computer manually and send it to us. Please follow these steps:
1. Press the Windows logo key + E simultaneously on your keyboard to open File Explorer (or Windows Explorer on Windows 7 and 10).
2. Type or copy and paste %TEMP% in the address field in the Explorer window, as shown in the screenshot below, and then press the Enter key:
3. In the list of folders that appears, find the FTM folder and double-click it to open it.
4. In the FTM folder, locate all the files that are marked “compressed (zipped) Folder” in the Type column:
5. Send all of the ZIP files from the FTM folder to us using our online upload page (click here).
Tip: To add a file to the upload page, you can drag it directly from the FTM folder in File Explorer and drop it on the Browse button. (Some numbers and letters appear next to the button when you hold a dragged file over it, indicating that you can release the mouse button to add the file.)
Please note that if there are several ZIP files, you will need to upload them one by one.
If any of the ZIP files exceeds 100 MB (megabytes), please upload all of them to a file hosting site such as Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive. Then send us the link in a reply to the email you received from our Technical Support team so we can download the files.
For full instructions on how to share files on the free hosting websites mentioned above, please follow these links:
Dropbox – click here to see the instructions for uploading files, and click here to see the instructions for sharing files.
Google Drive – click here to see the instructions for uploading files, and click here to see the instructions for sharing files.
OneDrive – click here to see the instructions for uploading files, and click here to see the instructions for sharing files.
Gathering the Sync Reports Manually (Mac)
If you cannot use the automated FamilySync Report described above for any reason, there is a workaround that will allow you to gather the sync information from your computer manually and send it to us. Please follow these steps:
1. Find Family Tree Maker 2017 or Family Tree Maker 2019 in the Applications folder.
2. Control-click the application and select Show Package Contents from the shortcut menu.
3. Navigate to the following location:
Contents/Frameworks/FTMSync.framework/Versions/A/Helpers
4. Double-click the FTMSyncErrorReporting application to launch it.
5. In a new window that opens, choose the tree in question and click Create Report.
6. Choose the location for the archive and click Save.
7. Send the saved archive to us using our online upload page (click here).
Tip: To add a file to the upload page, you can drag it directly from the FTM folder in File Explorer and drop it on the Browse button. (Some numbers and letters appear next to the button when you hold a dragged file over it, indicating that you can release the mouse button to add the file.)
Please note that if there are several archive files, you will need to upload them one by one.
If any of the archive files exceeds 100 MB (megabytes), please upload all of them to a file hosting site such as Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive. Then send us the link in a reply to the email you received from our Technical Support team so we can download the files.
For full instructions on how to share files on the free hosting websites mentioned above, please follow these links:
Dropbox – click here to see the instructions for uploading files, and click here to see the instructions for sharing files.
Google Drive – click here to see the instructions for uploading files, and click here to see the instructions for sharing files.
OneDrive – click here to see the instructions for uploading files, and click here to see the instructions for sharing files.