After you have used the Manage Groups view on the Duplicate Merge Manager window to select the records to be merged, deleted, and kept and have saved the groups, you can use Duplicate Merge Manager to merge the records. You can perform a Merge while other iMIS users are connected to the system.
Note: When you click Merge, all of the current duplicate groups are merged unless you are performing a merge of two known IDs. You should review all duplicate groups for accuracy and any conflicts before performing the Merge operation.
Caution! It is strongly recommended that you perform a backup of the database before merging records. The Merge process is final. If any records are merged or deleted in error, you will need to restore your database from a backup.
To merge duplicate groups
1. (optional) If you want to merge previously saved duplicate groups, click Saved Groups. A message displays to let you know that if you are currently viewing groups that have not been saved to the permanent table, they will not be maintained.
2. Click Yes. The first saved group displays on the Group tab on the Manage Groups view of the Duplicate Merge Manager window.
3. Click Merge. A confirmation message displays indicating how many duplicate groups have been defined for merging.
Note: If two or more users have prepared the same group for a merge, Duplicate Merge Manager will probably log an error indicating that it was unable to merge the group because one of the IDs does not exist when it attempts to merge the group the second time. You can remove the extra duplicate group before running the Merge process to prevent this problem. See To remove a duplicate group for information on deleting a previously saved group.
For performance reasons, indices are built on the following tables:
□ Invoice
□ Orders
□ Trans
□ Activity
□ Name_FR (One on ID and one on SOLICITOR_ID)
These indices will remain on the tables unless you restore the .lbr files or perform an iMIS upgrade.
4. Click Yes. After the indices have been built, the merge process automatically begins and a message indicating the merge progress displays in the Duplicate Merge Manager window.
For each duplicate group that has a Retain ID selected, the utility re-verifies each ID’s delete status against the current iMIS database. If a record does not pass the verification process, the error is logged to the event log file. All Merge process messages except for the initial warning, halting errors (errors that prevent the Merge process from continuing), and the final completion message are written to the event log rather than being displayed.
Note: When an error occurs for a group, the merge process continues with the next group; a group with an error will not be merged. For example, if there are four IDs to delete in a group and an error occurs with the first ID, the remaining IDs in the group to delete will not be verified (there may be additional errors on the remaining IDs) and Duplicate Merge Manager will verify the next group for the merge.
If a record passes the verification process, the address fields for the Retain ID are set to the values selected in the Action tab. All records marked for deletion that meet the deletion criteria are deleted. All subordinate records of the Merge IDs are copied to the Retain ID and the Merge IDs are then deleted.
5. After the Merge process has completed without errors, a message displays indicating how many duplicate groups were merged.
□ If there are errors, a message displays with the number of groups processed and the number of groups in error.
Note: The group Retain IDs that did not merge are stored in DUPLICATE_GROUP.Retain_ID.
6. Click OK. Fix the errors or update the action that was selected for the group and then run the merge again.
7. Click Yes to display the event log, or click No to skip viewing the event log.
8. If you click Yes, an event log displays.
9. After viewing the event log, click OK. The Duplicate Merge Manager window displays.
10. If you click No, the Duplicate Merge Manager window displays.
Example of Duplicate Merge Manager Event Log window after successful Merge process with no errors
Example of Duplicate Merge Manager Event Log window after a Merge process in which an error occurred
To merge two known IDs
1. From Customers, select Manage duplicates.
2. Click Find Duplicates. The Find Duplicates options display.
3. Select Specify two known IDs to Merge.
4. Enter the first ID in the ID 1 field and press Tab. The name and company for the first ID display. If the ID is not valid, a message displays indicating that the ID is not valid.
5. Enter the second ID in the ID 2 field and press Tab. The name and company for the second ID display. If the ID is not valid, a message displays indicating that the ID is not valid. The Duplicate Merge Manager window should appear similar to the following:
6. Click Build Tables. A message displays informing you that the process may take from 2 to 20 minutes.
Note: If either ID is not valid, a message displays indicating that you must specify two existing IDs. Click OK, specify valid IDs for ID 1 and ID 2, and click Build Tables. A message displays informing you that the process may take from 2 to 20 minutes.
7. Click Yes. The duplicate group containing the two specified IDs displays on the Group tab in the Manage Groups view on the Duplicate Merge Manager window. The Duplicate Merge Manager window should appear similar, now containing tables and a Group tab and an Action tab.
8. Select the Action tab.
9. Select the Retain ID from the drop-down list.
10. Select the Preferred Mail option for the Address, Street Address, or Home Address.
11. Select the Preferred Bill option for the Address, Street Address, or Home Address.
12. Specify whether the ID that will not be retained should be merged with the Retain ID or deleted.
□ To merge the ID with the Retain ID, leave the ID in the IDs to Merge list.
□ To delete the ID, select the ID and use the > button to move the ID to the IDs to Delete list.
13. Click Save. A message displays.
14. You can perform the Merge operation for the two IDs now or save the group containing the two IDs so that the group can be merged later.
□ To perform the Merge operation for the two IDs now, click No and then click Merge.
Note: If you click No, you must perform the Merge operation immediately. If you run another Find Duplicates process before merging the group containing the two IDs, the temporary tables are overwritten and you will not be able to merge these two IDs without first performing this entire procedure again.
15. Click Merge. A confirmation message displays indicating how many duplicate groups have been defined for merging. Click Yes. A message displays indicating that the merge has completed. Click Yes to view the event log, or click No to skip viewing the event log. For more information on the event log, see To merge duplicate groups.
16. To save the group containing the two IDs to be merged later, click Yes. A message displays indicating the sequence number for the saved group. Click OK. A message displays indicating that no duplicates were found. Click OK. The duplicate group containing the two IDs is saved in the permanent tables and can be recalled later by clicking Saved Groups. You can continue finding and managing duplicate groups or proceed to the Merge process as needed.