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Merge ID Utility

Access the Merge ID Utility by using Millennium Explorer > Tools > System Upkeep > Utilities. Utility names are listed in the Abila Millennium display area. Click Merge ID.

The Merge ID Utility is used to "clean up" your tables when you determine that you have two different ID Numbers for the same constituent. This utility will re-assign all of the data rows from one of the ID Numbers to the other ID Number.

The system will prompt you to identify a Merge From ID and a Merge To ID. This is done using a variation of the Search Abila Millennium Database form You may use the name, address, or ID number to identify constituents to the system as the Merge From and Merge To constituents (Advanced Searching is not available).

In this discussion, the Primary ID, or first constituent will be referred to as the Merge To ID constituent. The Secondary ID, or second, constituent will be referred to as the Merge From ID constituent.

This utility does not create a new copy of the information, but moves the information to the specified constituent. Once the data rows have been merged, they can only be accessed via the Merge To ID constituent's ID Number or Name.

This utility does not attempt to integrate the data from one row into another row, even if one of the same "type" is present. For example, if the Merge To ID constituent has an Address row with a Type of home, and the Merge From ID constituent also has such a row, following the merge, the Merge To ID constituent will own two rows with a Type of home. Since these may represent the same location, the information should be manually combined on to one data row and then the other row deleted. This should be done as part of the clean-up procedures following the run of the utility.

Each constituent may have either none or one row in the Death and the same applies to the Tracking table. If the Merge To ID constituent already has a row in these tables, the utility will not attempt to move another into it from the Merge From ID constituent. If the Merge To ID constituent does not own either a Death or Tracking row, the Merge From ID constituent's Death and/or Tracking row will be moved to the Merge To ID constituent.

For example, the Merge To ID constituent has a Death row and does not have a Tracking row. The Merge From ID constituent has both a Death row and a Tracking row. The system will leave the Merge From ID constituent's Death row in the Death table, under the Merge From ID constituent's ID number, but it will move the Merge From ID constituent's Tracking row to the Merge To ID constituent

The system will also leave the Merge From ID constituent's Basic Data row in the Basic Data table, under the Merge From ID constituent's ID number.

Comparing and then deleting the Merge From ID constituent's Tracking, Death and/or Basic Data rows should be done manually as part of the clean-up procedures following the run of the utility. However, the utility will offer the option, once the Merge is complete, to have the Merge From ID constituent's Basic Data, Tracking and/or Death rows removed automatically. Choose this option only if you are confident that you will not lose important information by doing so.

The Merge ID Utility does not move any Summary rows from one constituent to another. Summaries rows are not created using typical data entry procedures. They are only created by using the Summaries or Years Utilities. Since Summary data is calculated based on the Gift data table, Summaries must be re-created, via the Summaries or Years Utilities, for any Merge To ID constituent following the action of the Merge ID utility - particularly if Gift rows were moved from a Merge From ID constituent to a Merge To ID constituent.

Abila Millennium does not allow a constituent to have more than one spousal-type relationship. If the Merge To ID constituent has a spousal-type relationship and the Merge From ID constituent also has a spousal-type relationship, the utility will not begin the Merge process.

The utility will follow the same database 'rules' when creating the new data rows for the Merge To constituent as it would if the data was entered using standard data entry techniques.

Utility Classification

This utility alters existing data on the system and is classified as a system administrator tool. Access to the utility is protected with a system password that has been provided to the system administrator at the time that Abila Millennium is installed.

To Run Merge ID

1. Expand the Tools World item in the Millennium Explorer. Click System Upkeep. Click Utilities.
2. Locate and click on Merge ID from the list of available utilities. You will be given the password form and a brief description of the action of this utility.
3. Type in the system password (not your user log on password) as provided by your system administrator. Click OK. You will be given a confirmation message requiring you to verify that you want to access the utility.
4. Click OK to continue OR Cancel to close the utility. If you continue, you will be given a variant of the Search Abila Millennium Database form, prompting you to enter the Merge From ID.
5. Enter the ID Number or the Name and Address information (or partial information) to identify the constituent whose ID Number will be vacated by the run of this utility. Click Search to locate the constituent. The system will return a list of all those constituents who conform to the information you entered and prompt you to identify one from the list or refine your search, OR it will uniquely identify a constituent as the Merge From ID. When the Merge From ID is identified, click on OK to continue OR Cancel to stop the run of the utility.
6. You will be given a Search Abila Millennium Database form prompting you to identify the Merge To ID constituent.
7. Enter the ID Number or the Name and Address information (or partial information) to identify the constituent whose ID Number will be retained in the run of this utility. Click Search to locate the constituent. The system will return a list of all those constituents who conform to the information you entered and prompt you to identify one from the list or refine your search, OR it will uniquely identify a constituent as the Merge To ID.
8. When the Merge To ID is identified, you will be given a display showing the Merge To ID and Name, and the Merge From ID and Name. Verify that the information is correct and click on OK to perform the merge OR Cancel to stop the run of the utility.
9. Before it begins the actual Merge, (that is to say, before any changes are made to the database), the utility will check for duplicate spousal-type relationships. If both the Merge To ID constituent and the Merge From ID constituent have a spousal-type relationship, the utility will return a message to inform you of this. Click Cancel to exit the utility; resolve this issue manually before launching the utility again.
10. The utility will process the merge and return a message showing that the merge completed successfully and a link to delete the remaining Basic Data, Tracking and Death rows. If you want to delete the remaining data at the time the merge was completed you will need to click on the link 'Click here if you want to delete Basic Data, Tracking and Death information from the 'Merge From' ID.', if you do not want to delete the remaining rows for the merged constituent at that time, you must delete those rows manually later. You may then click on OK to merge additional constituent IDs or Cancel to close the utility.
11. If you chose not to delete the remaining data at the time of the merge, you must perform the necessary clean-up following the use of this utility. Check to see that all information in the Death, Tracking, and/or Basic Data row belonging to the Merge From ID is present or incorporated into the corresponding row(s) belonging to the Merge To ID. When that has been done, delete the Basic Data row belonging to the Merge From ID (and the system will automatically delete the Death and Tracking rows when you do so.) If Gift rows were moved, or if the Merge From ID had Summary data rows, you should re-generate the Summaries for the Merge To ID using the Summaries or Years utilities.

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