.png)
Speed Up Tree Building in RootsMagic with This Powerful Tool: Copy Fact
- Devon Noel Lee
- May 26
- 5 min read
Have you ever typed the same census fact into five—or fifteen—different profiles in RootsMagic?
Yep, I’ve been there. That’s precious data entry time you’ll never get back… and that’s not even counting the typos or mismatched dates you don’t notice until months (or years) later.
But there’s a smarter way to work—and it’s already built into RootsMagic.
In this post, I’ll walk you through a power user tool that might just become one of your new favorites: Copy Fact.
Whether you’re working with a full household from a census page, a family group in a city directory, or logging the same military enlistment date across multiple people—this tool can save you a lot of time and reduce entry errors.
And wouldn’t you know it—RootsMagic released this tool after I finished a research project involving nearly 1,000 men in a Civil War regiment! Classic timing, right?
What Is Copy Fact in RootsMagic?
Copy Fact is a feature in RootsMagic that allows you to quickly duplicate a fact across multiple people in your tree. You enter the details once, and then apply them to everyone else, without starting from scratch each time.
It’s perfect for:
Census records
City directories
Tax lists
Military enlistments
School rosters
Church rolls
Let’s take a look at how it works.
How to Use the Copy Fact Tool in RootsMagic
Here’s a step-by-step example using the 1880 U.S. Census and a multi-person household.
Step 1: Open the Edit Person Screen
Start by opening the Edit Person screen for one of the individuals. In this case, I’m working with the head of the household, but it works the same way no matter who you start with.
Step 2: Add the Fact Like Normal
Enter the fact as you normally would: date, place, description, source citation, and any notes. Once the fact is complete, click it to highlight it.
(If you’re working with an existing fact, just highlight it the same way.)
Step 3: Open the Options Menu
With the fact highlighted, click the three-dot Options menu and choose “Copy Selected Fact.”
Tip: You’ll also see a “Move Selected Fact” option—that’s for transferring a fact to a different person. It’s not what we’re doing today, but it’s another underrated time saver.
Step 4: Select the People to Copy the Fact To
RootsMagic will open a window where you can select anyone in your tree to receive a copy of this fact. That includes spouses, children, cousins, or anyone else. You can even use the search feature in the Explorer window to handpick individuals—super helpful in large trees.
Read the next heading following the basic steps for tips on how to select more people.
Step 5: Click OK and Let RootsMagic Work Its Magic
Once you’ve selected everyone, click OK. RootsMagic will automatically copy the fact,along with the date, place, description, source citation, and notes, to each person you selected.
That’s it! You've now saved yourself several repetitive entries.
Step 6: Customize the Copied Facts
Here’s what I love most: after you copy the fact, each person’s version is independent. There’s no “link” to the original, so editing one won’t affect anyone else.
This means you can fine-tune the details for each individual. For example:
If one man enlisted in the Civil War and was immediately promoted, you can update the rank just for him.
If two people appear in the same city directory but lived at different addresses, you can adjust the address field while keeping the city, year, and source intact.
This is the kind of fine-grained control that serious researchers dream of, without all the manual effort.
How to Select Multiple People in RootsMagic
Marking multiple people in RootsMagic is a relatively easy once you understand how the selection window works. This same selection tool appears across many features in RootsMagic, so once you've used it here, you'll be able to apply it elsewhere.
Here’s how to select multiple people when using the Copy Fact tool:
1. Click “Mark” - This opens several options for choosing who will receive the copied fact.
Families - Select this option to mark the immediate family of the person you initially selected. This is great for copying census data or city directory listings to family members in the same household.
Everyone - Use this option very cautiously. It’s rare to copy a fact to every person in a file—unless you're working with a small database. For example, I used it when adding a unit history to every man in my 133rd Ohio Infantry project. Otherwise, avoid this on large trees.
Everyone in the highlighted person’s tree - Again, rarely used. There are few scenarios where you’d want to apply a single fact to an entire tree connected to one person.
By Data Fields - One of the most powerful tools, especially if you're copying facts shared by people with the same event details. (More on this below.)
Saved Searches / Deceased People - These options come in handy depending on the fact you’re working with, like applying military service facts only to deceased ancestors.
Search for Specific Names - If you’re working with a focused group, you can search by surname or first name:
Type the name (e.g., "Hume") into the search box.
Check the box next to the person you want to copy the fact to.
Repeat this for additional names (like Carl Bancroft).
When you're done, click Select to apply the fact to those individuals.
Use Data Field Search for Shared Details - If your fact has unique data (like a keyword in the description), you can search for it:
Choose "By Data Fields."
Select the Military fact.
Choose the Description field.
Set the criteria to "Contains" and type part of the detail (e.g., "field").
Click OK and RootsMagic will mark all matching people—13 in my example.
2. Review the List - Before finalizing, scroll through the marked list. If RootsMagic selected someone you don’t want (e.g., a child not living at home during a census year), simply uncheck that name.
3. Click “Select” - This confirms your selections and applies the copied fact.
Made a Mistake? No Problem.
If you accidentally copied a fact to someone (like Gustavus Innis in my case), just highlight the fact in their profile and delete it. Quick fix!
Customize Individual Facts
Once a fact is copied, it’s unique to that person. So if Wilson Hume mustered out on a different date than the others, you can edit just his version of the fact without affecting anyone else.
Selecting multiple persons to copy a fact to in RootsMagic saves tons of time, reduces repetitive typing, and preserves accuracy across your tree, especially when copying shared facts like census records, enlistment dates, or city directory entries.
Why I Use RootsMagic Copy Fact All the Time Now
Before this feature was added, I used to manually re-enter the same details over and over again for every person in a census household or city directory. Even with copy-and-paste, it was tedious—and I’d often miss small things like source citations or specific notes.
Now, I enter the fact once, use Copy Fact, and then customize only what’s unique. It’s faster, cleaner, and way less error-prone.
Honestly, this one tool has sped up my tree-building process more than any other single feature in RootsMagic.
Try It in Your Next Research Session
If you’re still entering the same information over and over, give RootsMagic's Copy Fact a try. It might not be flashy, but it’s one of the most efficient ways to keep your tree growing—and your data clean.
⏱️ Less typing, fewer errors, more momentum.
Have you tried this feature yet? What’s the biggest batch you’ve applied a fact to?
Let me know in the comments—I’d love to hear how you’re using Copy Fact in your research.
コメント