Overview
The 'Possible Duplicates' tool helps to identify and manage duplicate records for students, parents and staff.
Article Sections
Identify Duplicates
1. From the Staff, Student or Customer list, bottom left, change the view to show All records.
2. Check off all records.
3. In the Actions menu select Show Possible Duplicates.
4. A list of possible duplicates will be presented. The default view shows:
- Active records in green.
- Medium Match Rules.
- The Oases record number in parenthesis - The higher the number the newer the record.
Change Match Rules
3. Not all the data presented will be an actual duplication as the results are possible matches that looks at sections of names. Make the results stricter if required by changing the Match Rules from Medium to strict.
Inactive Records
4. Check the slider to include inactive to show duplicates involving inactive records. Inactive records if there are any will be shown in blue.
Merge Duplicates
5. When you identify a genuine duplication you may wish to merge the records and this may be done directly from the results list. The record you click first will be merged into the record you click second. All data except login information for staff or parents will be merged as long as the field in the receiving record (clicked second) is empty.
When merging records with a login to Oases be sure to merge the one with no login into the one with the login as logins won't move records.
6. To merge a record click on the name of the record you wish to merge from. This one will be deleted after the merge.
7. A merge field will appear asking you to select the record to merge into.
8. Click on the name to merge the duplicate information into.
9. When two names have been selected the merge field updates and presents a Merge button to complete the merge.
10. You will then be asked to confirm and the list will update following the merge.
11. Screen confirmation is presented.
Search Algorithm
Duplication identification uses a phonetic algorithm called Soundex which compares the names to see if they sound the same, this way, for example, it can highlight Fred and Frederick or Catherine and Kathryn.
Looser - matches the first character of the soundex of the first name and the first two characters of the soundex of the last name producing more results. Email addresses if present are compared.
Medium - matches the first two characters of the soundex of the first name and the first three characters of the soundex of the last name. Email addresses if present are compared.
High - matches the first three characters of the soundex of the first name with the first four characters of the soundex of the last name producing less results. Email addresses if present are compared.
Oases will also look at the address of the record holder for extra strength on pinpointing duplicates.