On the AncestryDNA shared matches page there is no built-in way to export the list. If you want to keep a record of a strong match’s shared matches or work with them in a spreadsheet, you have to copy the data off the screen by hand. Download Shared Matches as CSV adds a single button that saves every shared match on the page to a CSV file.
ThruLines is one of the most useful views on AncestryDNA, but you cannot export it. If you want to keep a record of how every DNA match descends from a given ancestor, or share a family line with another researcher, you have to rebuild it by hand.
AncestryDNA’s Clusters tool groups your matches by who shares DNA with whom, but the data stays inside the grid, and there is no export. If you want to work with the cluster data in a spreadsheet or another DNA tool, you cannot get it out. Download Clusters as CSV File adds a button that walks the grid for you and saves every pair of clustered matches to a CSV file.
When you click a match’s name in your AncestryDNA match list, Ancestry opens that match on the Trees tab. If you work primarily from shared matches (looking for group overlaps and cluster connections), that is the wrong tab for every single click and you have to press Shared Matches every time.
On a shared matches page, every shared match has two things you might want to click: their name, which takes you to more shared matches, or their tree to see where they fit. Ancestry hard-codes both the name and photo to open the Trees tab, so there is no one-click way to go straight to a shared match’s shared matches.
Working through AncestryDNA matches is a long sequence of the same small actions. You open the side panel, jump between tabs, add a group, add a note, and click into the tree. Every click comes from the mouse, and the buttons move around depending on which view you are in.
Working through your AncestryDNA matches list is a long sequence of the same small actions. For every match you want to triage you open the small menu beside the match, wait for the callout, and click through to the note, relationship, or groups panel. That is fine for one match. It is slow when you are sorting through fifty.
On Ancestry’s shared matches page, there is no header row with sort links above the two cM columns. If you want to flip from sorting by cM with you to cM with the match, you have to go through Ancestry’s sort menu every time. Add Quick Sort Links to Shared Matches adds a one-click sort link above each column so you can flip between the two sorts instantly.
