How to export a family Book (a printable, navigable PDF)
A single-sheet chart is perfect for one branch of the family. But when you want everything - every couple, every child, generation after generation - no sheet of paper is big enough to keep it readable. That’s what the Book is for. Instead of shrinking your whole tree onto one page, it lays the family out the way a book does: a cover, a contents list, and one comfortable page per family.
What a Book actually is
A Book is a multi-page PDF built from your tree:
- A cover with your tree’s name and a quick count of families and people.
- A table of contents listing every family, with page numbers - and in a PDF reader, each entry is a link you can click to jump straight there.
- One page per family - a couple (or a single parent) together with their children, drawn as a small, readable chart. Oldest ancestors come first, so the Book reads from the top of the family downward.
- “See also” links on each page that jump to a child’s own family page, or up to a couple’s parents - so you can follow the family around the document like a web.
- Bookmarks in the PDF sidebar, so readers can navigate the whole family from the reader’s outline.
People who never start their own family aren’t given a lonely page of their own - they simply appear as children on their parents’ page, right where you’d look for them.
When to reach for a Book
- Your tree is too big to print readably on one sheet.
- You want a complete record you can hold, not just a wall poster.
- You’re making something to keep or hand down - a christening gift, a reunion handout, a family archive.
Because RootsPrint runs entirely in your browser, a Book is as private as the rest of your tree: it’s generated on your device and saved straight to your computer. Nothing is uploaded, and nothing is posted anywhere - you decide who gets a copy.
How to export one
- Open the Export / Print dialog in the editor.
- Under What to export, choose Book.
- Pick a paper size and orientation if you like (A4 is a fine default), and toggle Include notes if you want each person’s notes to appear.
- Click Download PDF. RootsPrint builds a page for every family and saves the finished Book.
Bigger families make longer Books - that’s expected. Every couple with children earns its own page, so a large tree becomes a proper little volume.
Printing and binding
The Book prints like any PDF. A few tips for a keepsake:
- Print double-sided to save paper and feel more book-like.
- Heavier paper stock holds photos and ink better.
- For a finished feel, a simple comb, spiral, or saddle-stitch binding at a copy shop costs very little.
- The clickable contents and links only work in a digital PDF, but every entry also shows a printed page number - so a paper copy stays just as easy to navigate.
Changing the Book
A PDF can’t be edited after the fact, and that’s fine - the Book is a snapshot. When something changes, make the edit in your tree and export a fresh Book. It only takes a moment, and you’ll always have an up-to-date copy.
A readable page for one branch instead?
If you only want one part of the family - a single line of ancestors, or one couple’s descendants - you don’t need the whole Book. A focused, single-page export is often the better keepsake. See how to print a family tree for choosing a scope, capping generations, and letting the paper size fit itself.
Ready to make yours? Open the editor, head to Export / Print, and choose Book.