Ancestry's New ThruLines®: What's Changed and What Hasn't

Although I'm still settling in to the numerous changes with Ancestry hints and person profiles, I would like to mention a change I don't have any real complaints about—the new ThruLines® presentation. The redesign of this page has been done somewhat more thoughtfully and was rolled out without the jarring feeling of being dumped into a completely different interface. It's a little different, but not as much as it may first seem. For me, it does still show as Beta, so there's always a potential for additional changes. This is not an all-inclusive tutorial. I'm only touching on some of the highlights.

After navigating to DNA > Matches > By Ancestor, I'm presented with a few options. I can choose vertical, horizontal or card view to see all my ancestors. I prefer the card view (very much the same as it was before), but I'm sure others may prefer the more familiar tree views. Good news is—you have options! Pick the one you're most comfortable using. One thing I've seen in user groups is people saying "everything is too small to read" in the tree view. But you can actually scroll, using your mouse, to increase or decrease the size of the display. Card view can be adjusted, but you'll need to do so via your browser, not just by scrolling. 

Once you've selected an ancestor, you'll be presented with a tree in vertical view (horizontal isn't an option here, possibly because you'll be expanding generations down to your DNA match(es)). If there are too many generations to fit on the screen all at once, you'll see a small image with a number in a black oval shape under some of the names. It looks something like the image at the left. Clicking on this image will expand the generations below, down to your DNA match(es). You can also scroll to enlarge or shrink the information on this screen. If some descendants are not already in your tree, they may have a dashed line and show a tag of "Evaluate". If not already in your tree, your actual DNA matches will say "Potential" next to the relationship. If they are already linked to your tree, it won't say "Potential". If you prefer to work from a list view instead of the tree view, you can still select it and use it just like the "old" list view. I like the list view, but it does not easily indicate who may already be saved to your tree. It appears you have to click on "View Relationship" to figure it out. 

Now is a good time for a friendly reminder—ThruLines® may connect you with actual DNA matches, but the suggested family-tree connections between you and a common ancestor still need to be researched and verified. While many potential ancestors may be completely correct, and they could be great leads, please do the research and verify for yourself so you don't find yourself deleting a whole bunch of people later. Obviously, a true DNA match is a true DNA match. But the path between a DNA match and your common ancestor needs to be investigated and documented. 

My one "wish list" item on ThruLines® would be a way to visually see how many people are not already attached to my tree in card view and list view. I'd love to see there are 40 potential matches, and 10 are not already attached (and to be able to see who those 10 are). Since a DNA match will likely show under more than one ancestor as you move back through the generations, it feels repetitive to me to have to re-verify over and over. Rather than looking up the same person 4 times, I'd rather have a quick way to know "Oh! They're already attached to my tree." It seems a different color DNA icon for an attached DNA match, or "View in Tree" instead of "See Relationship" would immediately make it clear if I needed to check the person or not. 

If you prefer the old view, you can still toggle to "Classic View" for a few more days. This is currently slated to be removed October 1st. Personally, I had issues with the old view. When working on a small screen, it was a challenge to drag the various branches around on the screen. I know it shouldn't have been difficult, but I always ended up dropping the person and it would take me 4–5 tries to move across the screen. I'd often have to shrink the view drastically, just to move it and then enlarge it again. This wasn't an Ancestry problem, it was a me problem. I found myself using list view only because it caused fewer headaches, even if I had to click on the same people more than once. This new layout, with smooth scrolling, has solved this issue for me. But I can only speak for myself, and clearly some folks have felt the changes more than I have.

Ancestry has much more detailed information on ThruLines® available here. It does a great job explaining what the various views include. Fall is also the time Ancestry has historically updated ethnicity reports. I've seen a few people who've already received theirs, but as the rest of us wait with bated breath for the new results to drop, it's a great time to check out the new ThruLines® if you haven't already. Comment below and let me know your experience with the new layouts. 

Disclosure: I used ChatGPT to assist with a title and search description, and to review this post for clarity, punctuation and grammar. Unless otherwise indicated, the content and all opinions are my own.