Step-by-step installation of version 12 on Windows
This page shows step-by-step how to install Ancestris 12 on a Windows system.
The sections below are independent and do not all need to be done.
Screens shown might look different from those of the current Ancestris web site or the current Ancestris software version.
Knowing which Java version you use
Java Control Panel
Open the Windows Control Panel and then the Java Control Panel.
On its General tab, click 'About' to check the installed Java version.
On its Security tab, untick 'Enable Java content for browsers and Web Start applications' to improve security.
Command prompt
Alternatively, these steps let you identify which version of Java is running on your system.
1 - Open a Windows PowerShell window and enter CMD
or open a Command Prompt window.
2 - Type java -version
at the prompt. You will obtain a display as below, which shows that Java Version 8 (aka 1.8) 64-Bit is installed. Otherwise, it means java is not installed. Follow these instructions to install it.
java version "1.8.0_221"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.8.0_221-b11)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 25.221-b11, mixed mode)
If it shows "64 Bit", you have Java 64-Bit installed and you will be able to run ancestris64.exe to launch Ancestris
If it does not show 64-Bit, you have installed Java 32-Bit and you will not be able to launch Ancestris with ancestris64.exe. It will not find Java. You will need to launch Ancestris with ancestris.exe.
3 - Type exit
once or twice to close the command window.
Install Ancestris version 12
Follow the instructions below from your Windows system.
1/6 - Download Ancestris
- Go to https://www.ancestris.org
- Click on 'DOWNLOAD' in the Menu
- Then click on the ANCESTRIS 12 button of the Windows panel.
- Downloading may take 2 to 3 minutes
2/6 - Extract the Ancestris file
- Ancestris does not need to be installed as it runs directly from its
.exe
file. - So right-click the downloaded
ancestris-latest.zip
file, choose 'Extract All' and select a destination folder where the.exe
file can run. - On Windows 7, unzip into the
C:\Program Files
folder otherwise Ancestris won't run.
3/6 - Check the Ancestris file to run
- In the destination folder, open the
ancestris
folder and then thebin
folder; there theancestris64.exe
file will run Ancestris on a 64-bit system, while theancestris.exe
file will run it on a 32-bit system.
4/6 - Add an Ancestris shortcut
- Right-click on the
ancestris64.exe
orancestris.exe
file and choose 'Pin to Start' or 'Pin to taskbar' to add a shortcut to the Start menu or the Taskbar.
- Then set the icon of the resulting Ancestris shortcut. For that, you need to right-click on the shortcut and replace the icon with the
ancestris.gif
file.
5/6 - Click the shortcut and Ancestris then starts
6/6 - The Welcome page then appears. You are now ready to use Ancestris.
If Ancestris does not start, it might be related to a Java version issue. You may have to swap the Java version.
Please follow these instructions.