Extract text from Family Tree Maker backups (FTMB)
To convert FTMB backups to another format, you need Family Tree Maker or other Backup software.
To convert other file formats to the "Genealogy Data Backup" file type, you need software like Family Tree Maker or a similar tool.
The .FTMB file is a proprietary backup archive used by Family Tree Maker to package a genealogy database and its associated media files into a single file. Family historians and genealogists use this format to safely archive their research or transfer data between different computers running the same software.
Sharing an .FTMB file with relatives is a common but frustrating mistake. The file format is strictly proprietary. Without purchasing and installing a compatible version of Family Tree Maker, the recipient cannot view the family tree. Standard document viewers and web browsers cannot read the internal database schema. Furthermore, if the backup includes high-resolution scanned documents and photos, the file size easily exceeds standard 25MB email attachment limits, creating additional friction when sharing.
To make the data readable by other software (such as Gramps, MyHeritage, or RootsMagic), the file must be converted to the universal GED (GEDCOM) format. Because an .FTMB file is actually a standard ZIP archive internally, you can manually rename the file extension to ZIP to extract the enclosed images, though the complex family tree relationships will remain locked in the internal database file.
This file format is difficult to open or convert precisely because it relies on closed, proprietary data schemas. Emphasize that often only the original software can properly read or export the relational data into a universal format. However, just drag and drop your file to convert.guru to identify the format, view it, and convert it when possible. We can inspect the file, navigate the internal archive structure, and help you extract embedded media content or raw database text even when standard online converters fail.
Convert.Guru analyzes your FTMB file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted FTM, FTW, GED, EXE and FBC files.
If you want to convert FTMB file to BAK, BACKUP, OLD, TMP, TEMP, ARC, ZIP, TAR, GZ, 7Z, RAR or ISO, you can use Family Tree Maker or similar software from the "Genealogy Database Backup" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert SNAPSHOT, OLD, IMG, RESTORE, ISO, COPY, VMDK, TMP, VHD, BAK, ARCHIVE or BACKUP files to FTMB, try Family Tree Maker or another comparable tool in the "Genealogy Database Backup" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our FTMB converter.