Our Matchbox and Multiview Browser features allow you to group up to 5 matches, so that you can compare the DNA you share with each one.
This can help you to work out where a particular match may fall in your family tree.
We recommend starting with either a specific region, or a known family name or line to follow, but to avoid siblings.
First you’ll need to create a matchbox by going to ‘Family Matching’ in the Ancestry menu at the top of your screen.
At the top of your match list, there are four options. Select Matchbox from here.
Here, you’ll see a blue button labelled ‘Create New Group’ at the top right.
Clicking on this will allow you to create, name, and colour code a new group.
Clicking ‘Add Group’ will create a matchbox, which will be empty for the time being.
To start adding matches, go back to your Relatives List and select a match. Our example doesn’t use real names for privacy and security purposes. We’ll imagine that a few of them share the surname “Helix”
For each match you'd like to add into your matchbox, click on ‘Add to matchbox’.
Once you’ve done this, you’ll see a dot the colour you chose for this particular matchbox on the right of each match. If you add a match to more than one matchbox, you’ll see multiple dots for them.
Once you’ve created your matchbox and added up to 5 relatives, you can use the Multiview Browser to compare your shared segments.
Next, you can use our Multiview Browser to compare the DNA segments you share with each match. This can help you to determine how you are related.
1. Click on Multiview Browser at the top of your screen and, if you have created more than once match box, select the one you'd like to view from the drop-down menu.
2. You'll see the first 22 chromosomes of the individuals in your matchbox displayed alongside one another. You will not see the 23rd chromosome (the one that is involved in determining genetic sex because they are not used in our relationship estimations). The blue highlighted segments represent DNA each individual shares with you.
If you have the same shared segments in common with two matches, it is likely you are related through the same branch of your family.