PedigreeChartMaker
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GUIDE

How to make a pedigree chart

A pedigree chart shows who is related to whom and who has a trait — a family tree with standardized symbols. Here is the fastest path from nothing to a printable chart.

5
minutes
from blank canvas to a printable chart
3
generations
in the standard classroom pedigree
5
export formats
SVG, PNG, PDF, JSON, and print
100%
private
no account, no upload, no tracking

The five-minute workflow

  1. 01
    maker/

    Open the maker

    Visit /maker/ in any modern browser. There is no account, install, or upload — the app loads instantly and autosaves charts to your device.
  2. 02

    Start from a template

    Pick a ready-made family such as Three-Generation, dominant, recessive, X-linked, mitochondrial, or Y-linked — or start blank. Every template is fully editable, so you are never locked in.
  3. 03

    Add the people

    Use the People toolbox or Quick Add to place a proband, parents, partners, and children. Right-click any person to add relatives beside them, then drag to rearrange.
  4. 04
    none affected carrier proband

    Mark health details

    Select a person and click a trait to cycle none → affected → carrier → presymptomatic. The inspector also handles sex, deceased, proband, twins, adoption, and extra traits.
  5. 05

    Arrange and export

    Choose Layout → Auto arrange for tidy generations numbered top-to-bottom. Then export as SVG, PNG, or PDF, or print straight from the browser.

Common tasks

Add a parent, partner, or child

Select a person, then use the toolbar buttons (Add parent, Add partner, Add child) or right-click the canvas. New people appear next to their relatives with an auto position.

Mark someone as affected

Select the person and click the trait in the inspector to cycle none → affected → carrier → presymptomatic. Add more traits in the traits panel to track several conditions.

Set sex, deceased, proband, twins, adoption

The inspector groups these under Person: symbol, life status, marker, and — for children — relationship kind and twin pairing with zygosity.

Rearrange the chart

Drag any person anywhere. Auto layout (Layout → Auto arrange) reflows everyone into tidy generations while respecting pinned positions.

Keep generations tidy

Auto layout numbers generations top to bottom with roman numerals, and every person gets a pedigree ID like 3-2 that updates when you reorganize.

Export or print

Export → choose SVG (vector), PNG (scaled for crisp print or sharing), PDF (A4/Letter with margins), or JSON project. Print uses the browser print dialog.

Move to another device

Export a .pedigree.json file, open /maker/ on the other device, and use Open project to continue. Files contain everything except the undo history.

Anonymize for teaching

The export dialog can replace all names with pedigree IDs — ideal for classroom handouts. Nothing leaves your device either way.