The Warthen Interactive Cluster (WIC) is an advanced clustering tool that groups your DNA matches based on their “In Common With” (ICW) relationships and displays the results in a fully interactive heatmap directly inside the DNAGedcom Client. Unlike other clustering tools that produce static HTML files, WIC lets you pan, zoom, and click the heatmap to explore your clusters in real time.
This is a Gold subscription feature and requires a DNAGedcom Gold subscription.
WIC offers two clustering algorithms (Threshold and Hierarchical), identifies superclusters that group related clusters together, and optionally overlays ancestor and chromosome data onto the heatmap. A set of detail tabs below the heatmap lets you drill into cluster members, shared ancestors, chromosome segments, and common ancestors from match family trees.
A*DNA, FTDNA, 23andMe, MyHeritage, and GEDmatch data are supported. WIC operates on data in your database (file import is not supported — use CLM for file-based clustering).
Before running the Warthen Interactive Cluster, you must first gather data from your DNA testing service using the Gather tools in the Client.
| Data | Required? | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Matches | Required | The list of DNA matches to cluster |
| ICW (In Common With) | Required | The shared match relationships that drive the clustering algorithm |
| Chromosome Segments | Optional | Enables the Chromosome Browser tab — click any heatmap cell to view shared DNA segments between two matches |
| Ancestors / Trees | Optional | Enables the ancestor overlay (green dots on the heatmap) and the Common Ancestors and All Ancestors tabs |
Only kits that have both match and ICW data will appear in the DNA Kit dropdown.
| Setting | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Kit and Filters | |
| Kit Filter | Prefilter list of kits in the database |
| DNA Kit | Selects the target kit for clustering |
| cM Range | Selects matches based on total cM shared (default: 20–400) |
| Surname Filter | Filters matches for matching surnames (comma-separated, optional) |
| Clustering Method | Chooses the clustering algorithm: Threshold or Hierarchical |
| Display Options | |
| Show Superclusters | Groups related clusters with green dashed boundary lines |
| Notes Chars | Number of characters from match notes to show in heatmap labels (0 = off) |
| Show Ancestors | Overlays green dots where two matches share a common ancestor |
| Show Chromo Browser | Loads chromosome data for cell-click segment viewing |
| Exclude Unclustered | Hides singleton matches for a cleaner view |
| Advanced | |
| Inclusion Threshold | Connectivity requirement for Threshold method (Easy/Standard/Strict) |
| Max Cluster Size | Dissolves clusters larger than this (0 = disabled) |
| Min cM to Cluster | Two-phase extension pipeline for weaker matches (0 = disabled) |
| Min Cluster Size | Minimum members to keep a cluster (default: 3) |
| Min ICW Shared cM | Minimum cM for an ICW relationship to count (0 = disabled) |
Typing a name or part of a name in this field will limit the kits listed in the DNA Kit dropdown to only those kits that have a name containing that input. This is especially helpful if you have many kits in your database.
Select the DNA kit you want to cluster. The dropdown shows only kits that have both match and ICW data in the database. If a kit is not listed, you may need to gather ICW data for it first.
Sets the upper and lower limit for total shared cM of matches to include in clustering. The default value is 20 to 400 cM.
Optional. Enter one or more surnames separated by commas. Only matches whose name contains at least one of these surnames will be included. Leave blank to include all matches.
Choose the algorithm used to group matches into clusters:
Threshold (default) — Uses the Collins-Leeds Method. Iteratively prunes matches that don’t meet the connectivity threshold. Often produces fewer, more cohesive clusters.
Hierarchical — Builds a dendrogram by merging the most similar matches first. Produces detailed cluster boundaries. Also supports the Min cM to Cluster extension pipeline.
Default: On. Groups related primary clusters that share ICW connections. Shown as green dashed boundary lines on the heatmap. Superclusters often represent broader family branches.
Default: 0 (off). Sets the number of characters from match notes to display before the match name in heatmap labels. Set to 1–10 to show annotations.
Default: On (when ancestor data is available). Overlays green dots on cells where two matches share a common ancestor in their family trees.
Default: On (when chromosome data is available). Click any heatmap cell to see shared DNA segments. Enable “Show Entire Cluster” to see all segments among cluster members.
Default: On. Removes singletons from the heatmap. Turn off to see all matches including unclustered ones.
| Threshold | Ratio | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Easy | 1/3 | A match stays if it shares ICW with at least 1/3 of the cluster. Larger clusters. |
| Standard | 1/2 | Must share ICW with at least half the cluster. Balanced default. |
| Strict | 2/3 | Must share ICW with at least 2/3 of the cluster. Smaller, tighter clusters. |
Default: 0 (disabled). Clusters larger than this are dissolved into singletons. Useful for endogamous populations.
Default: 0 (disabled). Enables a two-phase extension pipeline:
Phase 1: Build clusters from strong matches in the cM Range.
Phase 2: Place weaker matches into the nearest existing cluster.
Example: cM Range 20–400 with this set to 10 clusters 20+ cM first, then places 10–20 cM matches.
Default: 3. Clusters with fewer members are dissolved. Increase to eliminate low-confidence clusters.
Default: 0 (disabled). Minimum cM for an ICW relationship to count. Higher values produce tighter clusters.
To cancel, click Cancel.
The heatmap is a correlation matrix where each row and column represents a DNA match.
Green dots appear where two matches share a common ancestor.
Left panel lists all clusters. Click to zoom to that cluster.
Hover over any cell to see match names and correlation strength.
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Cluster | Cluster number |
| Name | Match name |
| cM | Total shared DNA in centimorgans |
| Seg | Number of shared segments |
| Longest | Longest shared segment in cM |
| Tree | Tree type |
| Size | People in match’s tree |
| Starred | Starred/favorited |
| Hint | A* hint indicator |
| Correlated | Correlated match count |
| Notes | Match notes |
Lists ancestors across match data: surname, given name, clusters, match count.
Click a heatmap cell to view shared DNA segments. Enable “Show Entire Cluster” for all cluster segments. Requires chromosome data.
Shows ancestors from match family trees across the selected cluster. Columns: Ancestor, Years, MRCA, Shared By.
Comprehensive view across all clusters. Columns: Surname, Given, Years, Clusters, Matches, Source.
After clustering: