How To Set a Primary Photo on the NEW Ancestry
For the past few months, I’ve tried to figure out how to set a “primary photo” for an individual. It was easy on the “old” Ancestry! I finally called Ancestry and they quickly sent me an email with a link that explained the steps I needed to take. I don’t think it is intuitive (or I would have figured it out!), so I’m sharing the steps.
STEP 1: Go to the profile page for the person on your tree and click “Gallery” to see all the images.
STEP 2: Click on the image you want to use as the primary photo.
STEP 3: The image opens up on a new page. Below the person’s name and photo information, there is a line that says “LINKED TO” followed by a blue bar with the person’s name and a ‘down’ arrow. Click on the that bar to reveal more information.
STEP 4: You should now see two options: “Use as Profile Image” or “Unlink Person from this Photo.” Click on “Use as Profile Image.”
When you return to the person’s profile page, you should see the new image next to their name.
The photo of William Lowry Ward, my grandmother’s “Uncle Lowry,” was one I got a copy of while visiting my mom’s a few weeks ago. Lowry was a son of Reuben Houston Ward and Sallie Harriet (Dickson) Ward.
Always good to share "How-to" thanks for doing it!
Thanks, Jill! Hope it helps!
Very helpful, Dana. When I go to the gallery, though, it keeps saying "this gallery is unavailable".
Interesting, Debi. Do you have actual images for that person? That's the only thing I can think of. Did you try the link that Ancestry sent me? That might be helpful. And, you can always contact them directly – they're very helpful!I hope you figure it out!
I have been an Ancestry member for years and years and for the life of me I could not figure this out….thanks for the very helpful post….can't believe how easy it was, just not very clear as far as Ancestry goes.
Thanks, Ruthe. I think it was very confusing on Ancestry, too. They do a lot of things well, but there are a few things that are very confusing! It was nice to learn how helpful they are if you ask them, though!
Thank you for this tip. I spent over an hour online, searching for how to set the primary photo on someone's profile. The internet is filled with hints that DO NOT WORK. They may have worked at some point, but apparently there have been many changes. I HATE the new ancestry! But, your tip worked, and I greatly appreciate finding it.
I'm so glad it worked for you! spent many hours working on it, too.
Thanks for your help. I could not figure out how to do it! It was so easy the old way. Now I know…..until they change it again.
Glad I could be of help! And, yes, this works… until the next time Ancestry changes it. 🙂
THANKS SO MUCH! This was driving me NUTS!
I'm glad it was helpful! I had to go back to my own post a few weeks ago to change a primary photo. It's just hard to find!
Thank you, this was so helpful….
Karen, I'm glad you found it helpful!
Thank you still very helpful
You're welcome! I'm glad I could help! 🙂
That procedure I am familiar with. What I am needing help in doing is uploading picture to a person's profile page. I have pictures on my computer and also some on my phone using the Ancestry Shoebox app. I am doing something wrong. Do you use the Shoebox app.
Hi, anonymous. To use a photo from your computer, go to "gallery" then "upload media" then "choose files" and find the image on your computer. I have saved some items to my Ancestry Shoebox on my computer, but wasn't aware there was a "Shoebox app." Sorry I can't help you with that one! Do you find it useful?
Dana, has Ancestry changed its system? When I select my photo from Gallery, the information to the right does not look the same. There is no longer a "linked to" section. Any suggestions as to what I'm doing wrong?
Dana, Re my comment of 14 Aug, I believe I was trying to add an item that was not a photograph, but was a different type of document. I downloaded from Ancestry a page from a high school yearbook. Is there any way to use that page as a primary photo?
I think the key is to save it as a jpg, not a pdf which is what might have happened. You can use a clipper like Evernote to clip the photo and save it and then add it as your primary photo. Hope this helps!
Thanks!