Investigative Genetic Genealogy Software
Link Family Trees Together to Solve Kinship Mysteries
CanopyLink is a purpose-built web-based tool for investigative genetic genealogists working unknown parentage cases, cold cases, and complex family research.
Turn any people on your tree into a shareable PDF
Switch on Report mode, click the people you want, and press Done. CanopyLink lays out a PDF containing a tree diagram of just those individuals — keeping the layout you see on screen — followed by their birth, death and relationship details. Ready to hand to a client or drop into a case file.
- Pick exactly who appears — one branch, one couple, or the whole line
- Vector PDF that stays sharp at any zoom or print size
- Estimated and approximate dates carry their qualifiers through
- 1 Open Report
- 2 Pick people
- 3 Get your PDF
What is CanopyLink?
CanopyLink is a secure, web-based platform developed by investigative genetic genealogists. It lets you build, link, and analyze family trees to solve unknown parentage cases, assist law enforcement investigations, and connect DNA relatives — all from your browser.
Built for Investigative Genetic Genealogy
Whether you're a professional IGG researcher, a law enforcement partner, or a genealogy hobbyist — CanopyLink fits your workflow.
Unknown Parentage
Build and link family trees from DNA matches to identify biological parents and extended family connections.
Cold Case Genealogy
Assist law enforcement with secure, well-documented family tree research to help identify persons of interest.
Family Research
Explore connections between DNA relatives, document your findings, and build detailed ancestor life stories.
How It Works
Get from DNA matches to answers in four steps.
Create a Project
Start a new case or import an existing GEDCOM file from another platform.
Build Your Trees
Add individuals, relationships, sources, and notes. Use anchors to organize multiple tree lines.
Link & Analyze
Connect trees to find common ancestors. Surface duplicate people, map locations, and color-code what matters.
Report & Share
Export a PDF report of the people who matter, share the project with your team, or download a GEDCOM.
Purpose-Built Features
Identify Common Ancestors
CanopyLink highlights shared ancestors automatically when you link trees together, making it easy to trace connections across multiple family lines.
Learn more →
Highlight What Matters
Use color coding and visual markers to draw attention to key individuals, relationships, and patterns in your investigation.
Learn more →
Merge Duplicate Individuals
Found the same person in multiple branches? Merge duplicates with a side-by-side preview, combining relationships and details into one clean record.
Learn more →Your Data, Protected
Genealogical research often involves sensitive information. CanopyLink is built from the ground up with security, privacy, and data integrity as core priorities.
Encrypted & Secure
All data is encrypted in transit and at rest. Your research stays protected at every layer.
Private by Default
Projects are private to you. Sharing is opt-in and controlled — you decide who sees your work.
Data Integrity
Referential integrity enforced at the database level. Your trees stay consistent and accurate.
Export Anytime
Your data belongs to you. Export your entire project as a GEDCOM file whenever you want.
Everything You Need
All the tools for professional genealogical research, in one place.
Link Trees Together
Connect separate family lines to find shared ancestors
Sources & Documents
Attach evidence directly to individuals in your tree
GEDCOM Import & Export
Bring in trees from other platforms or export your work
Team Collaboration
Invite colleagues as viewers or contributors, with a full change log
Life Stories & Notes
Document detailed biographies and research notes per person
Two-Factor Authentication
Protect your account with TOTP 2FA and recovery codes
Tree Reports
Export any selection of people as a formatted PDF report
Locations Map
Plot every birth, death and marriage place across your project
Duplicate Detection
Surfaces likely same-person matches across your trees
Trusted by Genealogists
See what investigators and researchers are saying.
"It's exciting to see something new on the horizon for an industry that grew out of a unique need and repurposing of a technology in the first place. Scott Foster, the brain behind CanopyLink, has stepped up to meet a critical need in our industry by building a purpose built platform just for forensic IGG teams. Taking old school techniques like tether trees and way posting and converting them to software features makes CanopyLink exciting for this old timer. I am so grateful to have access to it for our team at FHD Forensics."
Allison Peacock
President, FHD Forensics
"I highly recommend Scott and CanopyLink. Scott has been very responsive and has taken care of every ticket I've submitted quickly and efficiently. He makes things simple and easy to deal with, and I always feel confident that any issue will be handled. The CanopyLink program itself is also very easy to use, which makes a big difference in day to day genealogy work."
Michelle Curtis
"I just wanted to take a minute and thank you for the tailored product development that you have been providing for us. You have been so responsive and such a pleasure to work with. Our whole team has been really impressed by your ability to implement the features we have requested. It's so nice to be heard!"
Jeanne McCaleb
Start Building Your Trees Today
Create your free account and start connecting family trees in minutes. No credit card required.