Family Tree Maker 2017 and Family Tree Maker 2019 for Windows use components from Chromium Embedded Framework (CEF) to enable the program’s built-in web browser to operate. The majority of FTM users will never experience a problem with CEF but, as with any software, unexpected issues may occasionally occur.
Known Issues
Listed below are all the known issues that could be related to a problem with CEF and the steps you can take to try to solve them.
Issue:
You cannot log in to Ancestry.com or FamilySearch.com from FTM.
Solution:
This issue has a number of possible causes, one of which is CEF-related. Please see this article for further assistance.
Issue:
Images or other online content (tables, text fields, pop-up windows, etc.) are displayed incorrectly in the browser on the Web Search workspace.
Solution:
1. Make sure your copy of Windows is up to date.
2. If that doesn’t help, try clearing the CEF cache.
3. If the problem persists, reinstall FTM.
Issue:
An error message, “Cannot find Chromium Embedded Framework on your computer … ,” appears in the Web Search workspace, as shown below.
Solution:
1. Make sure your copy of Windows is up to date.
2. If that doesn’t help, try reinstalling CEF.
Troubleshooting Instructions
- Checking that your Windows is up to date
To get CEF working correctly, the first thing to do is to make sure all updates have been installed for Windows. For assistance with that, please see this Microsoft help article and follow the instructions there:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/12373/windows-update-faq
After updating Windows (if you needed to), check to see if the issue you were experiencing is resolved.
To clear the CEF cache, follow these steps:
1. Close Family Tree Maker.
2. Press Windows key + R on your keyboard to open the Run dialog box.
3. Enter %localappdata% and then click OK. The AppData folder opens in a file management window.
4. Find The_Software_MacKiev_Comp folder and double-click it to open it, then find a folder labeled FTM.exe_StrongName_seih5jkxwe5jgqf34wadynpglkq344as and open that.
5. Right-click the CEF folder and click Delete on the context menu. This will empty the cache.
6. Close the file management window and open Family Tree Maker.
Note: After clearing the CEF cache, if you were previously signed in to any websites from FTM you will need to sign in to them again. Also, some sites may seem slower at first because images and other content will need time to reload.
If clearing the CEF cache doesn’t solve the problem you’re having, please try reinstalling FTM.
To reinstall Family Tree Maker, follow these steps:
1. Uninstall Family Tree Maker. For help with that, please click here.
2. Reinstall Family Tree Maker from your original installation media (downloaded installer, DVD, or USB Drive). Click here for installation instructions.
3. FTM 2017 users: Open Family Tree Maker and check the version number (choose Help>About). If it is not version 23.3 (build 570), update it to that version. You can get help with updating by clicking here.
The steps for reinstalling CEF for FTM 2017 differ depending on how you installed version 23.2 (build 540) or 23.3 (build 570) of FTM 2017.
Prior to performing either of the procedures below, ensure that you have a copy of the FTM 2017 or FTM 2019 installation media (the DVD, USB Drive, or downloaded installer file) readily available.
– If you had an earlier version — 23.0 (build 343) or 23.1 (build 480) — of FTM 2017 installed and then updated that version to 23.2 (540) or 23.3 (570) using an updater file, you will need to reinstall FTM 2017 in order to get CEF reinstalled. Please follow the steps for reinstalling FTM 2017 listed earlier.
– If you are using FTM 2019, or installed version 23.2 (build 540) or 23.3 (build 570) of FTM 2017 directly from the full 23.2 installer without updating from an earlier version, follow these steps to reinstall CEF:
1. Close Family Tree Maker.
2. Click the Start button, then click Computer or File Explorer.
3. Navigate to the (C:) drive and double-click the Program Files folder to open it.
4. Double-click the Family Tree Maker 2017 (or Family Tree Maker 2019) folder, then find the Cef64 folder, right-click it, and click Delete on the context menu.
5. Launch the FTM 2017 or FTM 2019 installer from the installation media you have — downloaded file, DVD, or USB Drive.
6. In the dialog that opens, click the Repair button.
7. When the repair process is finished, reopen Family Tree Maker, go to the Web Search workspace, and see if the problem is solved.