Getting Started with Genome Mate Pro, Part 4 — App Settings

Scroll down for links to other posts in this series.

By now, you should have installed Genome Mate Pro, set up one or more profiles, and turned on the GEDmatch import templates. The next step is to configure GMP the way you want it to work. There are a bunch of settings that you can use to customize the display, imports, and even a form letter to send to your DNA matches.

Get Set for Settings!

(Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)

Open GMP and click on the Options tab.
Click App Settings on the left of the screen.
In the “Set Criteria for Data Imports” panel, set the minimum thresholds for segments you want imported. You can set cM values for both autosomal and X segments. Segments below these limits will be ignored during imports. If you’re not sure, leave the defaults where they are.
In the same area on the GMP screen, use the check boxes to set different aspects of the imports. Hover your cursor over each option to get a brief description at the bottom of the screen (where the copyright notice usually is). Again, if you’re not sure, stick with the defaults.
In the “Set Options for Chromosome Browser Display” panel, set the minimum segment size you plan to work with on a regular basis. For example, mine is set to 15 cM. Segments between 7 cM (my import threshold) and 15 cM (my display threshold) are still in the database, but they don’t clutter up my display unless I want them to. Also, make sure the radio button for “Graph” is selected.
Click the Save Options button at the bottom right of the GMP window.

And you’re done! In our next lesson, we’ll finally do an import (or two) from GEDmatch. The lessons will also be getting longer as we progress through the series. These early installments have been brief to get you acclimated to the program.