If you’re looking for a personalized Christmas or Hanukah gift for someone (or everyone) in your family, now is a great time to check out AncestryPress because we’ve just added two new formats for family tree posters. You can now choose from three formats: a 6-generation standard tree, a 5-generation standard tree and a 5-generation combination tree. The standard tree is just a regular pedigree chart that starts with an individual. The combination tree has a bowtie shape—it starts with a couple and shows three generations of ancestors on each side and one generation of descendants.

We’ve also added a feature that improves the synchronization between AncestryPress and Ancestry.com online family trees. You can now access all the images in your tree from within AncestryPress—even those that are not attached to a specific person.

If you look at the left-hand side of the AncestryPress interface, you’ll see three asset trays for Photos, Embellishments and Ancestry Records. The Photos tray includes images that you’ve uploaded directly to AncestryPress (in JPG or PNG format). The Embellishments tray contains pre-loaded embellishments: flowers, words, pencil art, frames, labels, journal pads, etc. You can create your own embellishments, but you’ll need to upload them to the Photos tray—you cannot upload files to the Embellishments tray.

The Ancestry Records tray actually shows all the images as well as the historical records attached to your online tree. To access images from your online tree that are attached to a person, go to the Ancestry Records tray, select a tree (if you have more than one) and then start typing the name of the person. You shouldn’t need to type more than a few letters because the auto-fill feature will give you a list of all the people in your tree whose names begin with those letters. Once you’ve selected the right person, you’ll see all the photos and records associated with that person. To access images that are not attached to anyone in your tree, select “Not attached to a person.”

Improving the synchronization with Ancestry.com trees is an ongoing process. Our colleagues in the online trees department are working on some exciting new features, and we’re already thinking about ways that we can leverage those upcoming changes to provide a better experience for AncestryPress users.

I hope you’re looking forward to sharing your AncestryPress project—whether it’s a printed book or poster or a work in progress—with your family over Thanksgiving. If you’re still gathering content for a family history book, don’t forget to ask your family members to bring photos and other memorabilia with them to any family gatherings you have planned for next week. Above all, have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!