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Genealogy Assistant features

Highlight DNA Matches by cM

The AncestryDNA match list with one match's 53 cM shown in bold red and outlined, between matches whose smaller amounts stay black.

What problem does Highlight DNA Matches by cM solve?

Highlight DNA Matches by cM shows the shared cM of your closer AncestryDNA matches in bold red and colours each match’s side, so your best leads stand out as you scroll. Without it, every match looks the same until you stop to read its numbers and the small grey side label.

How does Highlight DNA Matches by cM work?

On your AncestryDNA match list, the shared cM is shown in bold red for every match at or above your threshold, which is 25 cM unless you change it. Matches below the threshold keep Ancestry’s usual black, so the red ones are easy to pick out.

The side label under each match is coloured by the side Ancestry has assigned:

  • Pink for Maternal side.
  • Blue for Paternal side.
  • Purple for Both sides.

The tree details are shown in green: the number of people in a match’s linked tree, or Unlinked tree when the match has a tree that is not linked to their DNA test. ThruLines can only use linked trees, so a green Unlinked tree is a match worth asking to link theirs.

Each cM value also gets a small open-in-new-tab icon. Click the cM value to open DNA Painter’s Shared cM Tool in a new tab with that amount already filled in, to see which relationships it fits and how likely each one is.

How do I use Highlight DNA Matches by cM?

  1. In the Genealogy Assistant pop-up panel, make sure Highlight DNA Matches by cM is turned on.
  2. Open your AncestryDNA match list. Matches at or above 25 cM show their shared cM in bold red, and each side label is coloured.
  3. To change the threshold, click the settings icon next to Highlight DNA Matches by cM in the pop-up panel. Advanced Settings opens at DNA Match Highlighting.
  4. Type a new number in Ancestry DNA Matches. It saves as soon as you click away from the box.
  5. Reload the match list to see the new threshold.
Advanced Settings open in the Genealogy Assistant pop-up over the AncestryDNA match list, with Ancestry DNA Matches set to 25 outlined in red.

Related features

  • Highlight Shared Matches by cM: Highlights shared matches who share 25 cM or more with you, and matches of matches who share 50 cM or more, with both thresholds yours to change.
  • Segment Stats on DNA Match Pages: Shows the unweighted cM, segment count, longest segment and average segment size (AScM) under the shared DNA on every match page, without opening the pop-up.
  • DNA Painter Shared cM Tool Button: A Shared cM Tool button on every Ancestry DNA match page opens DNA Painter’s Shared cM Tool with the match’s cM already filled in.

Highlight DNA Matches by cM is a feature of the software Genealogy Assistant.

Genealogy Assistant is an extension for Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge and Apple Safari which supercharges your family history research by adding over 100 custom features to popular genealogy websites like Ancestry, MyHeritage, FamilySearch, FamilyTreeDNA and more.

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