download csv

[Dano]

Hi, hope someone can explain this for me - on my matches page at the bottom right hand corner I can see 'download csv'. What is csv, and should I download it, will it give me a clearer idea of who my matches are, and where we match? I don't have much knowledge of this dna subject, so any help is valuable.

[Jim Barrett]

A CSV is a comma-separated values file, which allows data to be saved in a tabular format. CSVs look like a garden-variety spreadsheet but with a . csv extension. CSV files can be used with most any spreadsheet program, such as Microsoft Excel or Google Spreadsheets.

[Dano]

Ah, right ok, so I have that already with my dna, similar to the certificate I think. If I download the csv file, will it allow me to compare my dna with those of my matches. I would have thought sharing dna like that was a security risk, or am I misunderstanding what I will see on the download.

[KATM]

Dano, the .csv file for STR matches does not give DNA information. It shows the following headings:

• Genetic Distance
• Full Name (of match)
• First Name " "
• Middle Name " "
• Last Name " "
• Email
• Earliest Known Ancestor
• Y-DNA Haplogroup
• Terminal SNP
• Match Date
• Big Y STR Differences
• Big Y STRs Compared

Not all of those fields will contain information for all of your matches. The only additional information in the .csv file, that isn't already shown on the Y-DNA Matches page, is the Big Y STRs Compared. The .csv is simply a convenient way to save your list of Y STR matches, with all the information shown on the page. Note that there are separate .csv lists for each level of STR testing (12, 25, 37, 67, 111), so you'd need to separately download whichever list(s) you are interested in saving.

[Dano]

Thank you so much, I understand that now. It might be helpful or time saving to download and print the matches for the highest level of testing, thanks again for your help.