{"id":13234,"date":"2026-09-23T10:10:22","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T10:10:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/?post_type=kb_article&p=13234"},"modified":"2026-10-04T08:27:33","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T08:27:33","slug":"upgrading-to-family-historian-8","status":"publish","type":"kb_article","link":"https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/kb-article\/upgrading-to-family-historian-8\/","title":{"rendered":"Upgrading to Family Historian 8"},"content":{"rendered":"

This page describes how to upgrade to Family Historian Version 8 from an earlier version. For upgrading to Version 7, see Upgrading to Family Historian 7<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Before You Order<\/h2>\n\u0192h<\/span><\/span>8 is a 64-bit program and needs a 64-bit version of Windows. Upgrade prices and licensing details are on the Family Historian website<\/a>; you will need your Family Historian account to activate the new version.<\/p>\n

Back Up First<\/h2>\n

Before installing, take full backups of every project, and of your settings and customisations, and keep them where later backups will not overwrite them. They are your way back if you decide not to stay with Version 8.<\/p>\n

Project backups are described in Backup and Recovery<\/a>. \u0192h<\/span><\/span>7 has no built-in way to back up settings (custom queries, plugins, fact sets and so on), so use the Backup and Restore Family Historian Settings<\/a> plugin. Once you are on Version 8, Backup Settings<\/em> on File > Backup\/Restore > Backup\/Restore Settings<\/a> does the job itself.<\/p>\n

Installing Version 8<\/h2>\n

Two things are different from earlier upgrades.<\/p>\n

Version 8 installs alongside your existing version.<\/strong> \u0192h<\/span><\/span>7 replaced whatever was there; \u0192h<\/span><\/span>8 goes into its own folders (Family Historian 8<\/em> under Program Files, ProgramData and AppData) and leaves the old version in place. You can try Version 8 before committing to it, but you can also open a project in the wrong version by mistake. Calico Pie recommend uninstalling the old version once you are settled, unless you have a reason to keep it.<\/p>\n

Your settings are copied across.<\/strong> When \u0192h<\/span><\/span>8 is installed on a PC that already has an earlier version, it copies preferences, customisations, fact sets, custom queries, reports, diagrams, text schemes, source templates, plugins, autotext, record flags and more. Take the settings backup anyway, but you should not need to restore it.<\/p>\n

Opening Your Project in Version 8<\/h2>\n

The first time \u0192h<\/span><\/span>8 opens a project, it upgrades the project to the new format. After that, do not open it in \u0192h<\/span><\/span>7 or earlier<\/strong>: data would be lost, starting with anything recorded about addresses. If you want to explore Version 8 before moving over for good, work on a copy of your main project.<\/p>\n

Watch where that copy goes. \u0192h<\/span><\/span>8 starts with the same projects folder as \u0192h<\/span><\/span>7 (Documents\\Family Historian Projects<\/em>), so its Project Window lists all your existing projects, and opening one upgrades it on the spot. To run both versions side by side:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. In \u0192h<\/span><\/span>7, open the Project Window, right-click your project and choose Copy Project<\/em>. Set Location for Copy<\/em> to a new folder for your Version 8 projects (for example Documents\\Family Historian 8 Projects<\/em>).<\/li>\n
  2. Open \u0192h<\/span><\/span>8 and, before opening any project, point it at that folder: Project Window > More Tasks > Project List > Choose Location for Projects<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  3. Open the copy.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\u0192h<\/span><\/span>8 copies \u0192h<\/span><\/span>7’s settings once; after that the two versions are independent, so changing a setting or the projects folder in one doesn’t affect the other.<\/p>\n

    If \u0192h<\/span><\/span>8 reports “Failed to take a snapshot” when it opens the project, or can’t save it, Windows’ Controlled folder access is probably blocking it. See Errors Caused by Controlled Folder Access<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Calico Pie’s release notes<\/glwrap> mention that a snapshot is kept when a project is upgraded. Don’t count on it during a long trial: snapshots are no substitute for the backups described above.<\/p>\n

    What Changes for Upgraders<\/h2>\n

    Addresses<\/h3><\/summary>

    Addresses are now records, like places, with their own map position, pictures and notes. The address fields in your project become Address records, each linked to the place of the fact it belongs to, so if you have been using both Place and Address fields there is nothing to do.<\/p>\n

    If you put whole addresses in the Place field, everything still works and you can leave it. If you want to move the address part into the Address field, there is no tool for it in Version 8: the Rearrange Address and Place Parts<\/a> plugin has not been updated. You can run it in Version 7 before upgrading, but the map positions stay with the (now shorter) places, and the addresses will need locating again. See Working with Places and Addresses in Version 8<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n

    Sources and Citations<\/h3><\/summary>

    There is a third kind of source, free form, alongside generic and templated, and much more control over how citations are output. Existing sources carry on as before. See Sources and Citations in Version 8 (for Upgraders from Version 7)<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n

    Queries<\/h3><\/summary>

    The Query Window has been rebuilt. The Rows tab is now the Filters tab, and query files are .fhqx<\/code> rather than .fhq<\/code>. Your custom queries are converted when Version 8 is installed, or when you import an old one, but check any you rely on. See An Overview of Queries in Version 8<\/a>, and An Overview of Smart Folders<\/a> for the new way of browsing records.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n

    Diagrams<\/h3><\/summary>

    Standard diagrams have a new look. If you had changed the settings of the four core diagrams, your versions are kept as custom diagram types called “V7 – Ancestors” and so on, and Choose Preferred Look for Standard Diagrams<\/em> on the Charts button will make them the default again. See Diagrams in Version 8<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n

    Plugins<\/h3><\/summary>

    Your plugins are copied across, but not every plugin has been updated for Version 8. Before you upgrade, look up the plugins you rely on in the Plugin Store and check that they support Version 8.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n

    Coming from Version 6 or Earlier<\/h3><\/summary>

    Your Property Box customisations are suspended, as they were on the move to Version 7, and can be restored with the Old Versions<\/em> button in the Customize Property Box dialog. Read the upgrade notes in the help first, because the Source record tabs have changed shape. Coming from Version 7, there is nothing to do.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n

    Going Back<\/h2>\n

    If you decide not to continue with Version 8, your old version is still installed (unless you removed it) and its settings have not been touched. Restore the project backups you took before upgrading, because a project opened in \u0192h<\/span><\/span>8 can no longer be used in \u0192h<\/span><\/span>7.<\/p>\n

    Work you have done in \u0192h<\/span><\/span>8 since upgrading can still be taken back. Export a GEDCOM file (File > Import\/Export > Export > GEDCOM File<\/a>) with Family Historian 7<\/em> (or Family Historian 6 or earlier<\/em>) as the Destination. Address records are excluded by default, since Version 7 has no such thing: the addresses themselves are still exported, but any pictures, notes and map positions attached to them are not. See Export Gedcom File Dialog<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","fh_version":[826],"skill_level":[17,16],"topic":[68,65,89],"class_list":["post-13234","kb_article","type-kb_article","status-publish","hentry","fh_version-v8","skill_level-intermediate","skill_level-newcomer","topic-faqs","topic-installing-migrating-and-upgrading","topic-upgrading-fh"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kb_article\/13234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kb_article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/kb_article"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"fh_version","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fh_version?post=13234"},{"taxonomy":"skill_level","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/skill_level?post=13234"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=13234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}