Zipped Unicode GEDCOM Genealogy File

UZED files are primarily used by version 7 of MyHeritage Family Tree Builder. They replaced .ZED files, which are used by versions 1 - 6 of the software.

UZED files are similar to ZED files but instead of storing only a Zip-compressed GEDCOM file, it also includes a metadata.xml file that stores metadata about the family tree. Also, the GEDCOM file compressed in the UZED archive stores Unicode UTF-8-encoded text instead of ANSI-encoded text, which the GEDCOM file in the ZED archive utilizes.

ZED and UZED files are often referred to as being saved in the ZEDCOM (Zipped-GEDCOM) format. The files were replaced by .FTB SQLite database files with the release of version 8 of MyHeritage Family Tree Builder.

While UZED files have been replaced by FTB files, you can still open them with MyHeritage Family Tree Builder. To open a ZED file with Family Tree Builder, select File → Open Project... .

Since UZED files are compressed with Zip compression, you can also rename the .uzed file extension to .zip , decompress the archive with a Zip utility, such as Microsoft File Explorer (Windows), Corel WinZip (Windows), or Apple Archive Utility , then open the GEDCOM file with a genealogy program and XML file with a text editor.

Programs that open UZED files

Updated: October 8, 2020