This procedure shows you how to check for duplicated items. Sometimes, when you create data, you can add spaces or other characters accidentally, so that what is intended to be the same record with updated data is in fact viewed by the database as a separate record. You can specify redundant characters that you want the software to ignore, and then you can run a check for duplicate items based on the item names without the redundant characters.
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With a Merger Comparison List dialog open, on the Actions menu, select Duplicates to open the Duplicate Items dialog.
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Select Characters to open the Redundant Characters dialog. Do one of the following:
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Select Add to add a new row and type in the required character or string.
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Select an existing character and modify it as needed.
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Select a row and select DELETE to remove that row from the list of redundant characters.
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Select Use Default to clear all user changes and restore the default set of redundant characters.
You can type strings of up to 20 characters.
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Select OK to return to the Duplicate Items dialog.
The Identity Name column displays the modified item name without the redundant characters,
and selects any duplicate rows using background shading: the software selects the
first instance using light blue shading and duplicate items using gray shading.
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Under View, select one of the following options:
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All items — All the items derived from the comparison list appear.
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Selected items — Only the items you select for merging appear.
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Duplicate items — Only the items highlighted as duplicates appear.
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Do one of the following:
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In the Select column, select the items you want to include for data merging.
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Select the Select all check box to include all the items or clear the check box to include none of the items.
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Selecting or clearing Select all affects the displayed items only.