When I open Genelines, I only see a chart I saved earlier. Why?

Genelines opens the last used file. In this case, it was a chart file you saved. While you can edit it for color, timeline, etc., you can't add anything to the existing chart. Therefore the buttons are not active.

Solution: Click on File, Open and browse to open your genealogy data file, or select your file from the Recently Used File list under File on the menu.