Match & Merge Note field

[eric.vanbeest]

Can anybody enlighten me on _how_ Reunion uses the Match & Merge Note fields ?

Match & Merge Note fields are created when Match & Merge-ing a number of people using the Match & Merge function. The Note field is populated with Other First Name and Other Last Name instances that Reunion merged into a single person. This information is used in the sidebar, where a person with be sorted using the first instance of the Other First Name and Other Last Name, while it is displayed using the normal names.

However, does Reunion use the information in the Match & Merge field for any other purpose? Eg. in subsequent Match & Merge, does it use the Other First Name and Other Last Name to find valid matches or increase the certainty of the match?

[Gregg]

When Reunion merges two people, sometimes two fields (in this case name fields) are different and can not be reconciled. Rather than try to merge the field contents into a single field, a Match & Merge notes field is created for this person and one of the fields to be merged is preserved in this note field.

Reunion does not use any of the information in the Match & Merge notes field. This field is for your reference should you decide to reconcile this extra information yourself. Once you're satisfied that the contents of the Match & Merge notes field has been resolved, you can delete this field from the person.

[eric.vanbeest]

Thanks for the information, Gregg, but this is not my experience. Hence my question.


Attached the case in point. There are four people in this Family File: two identical males, and two identical females. The _only_ difference between the females is that the second instance has a Match & Merge Notes field describing different First and Last Names. Now, undocumented things happen when I try to merge these People:

Starting with male (1) and female (2) couple in the Family view:

(a) If using the Match & Merge Function with Names & Dates:
i. Selecting the Male comparing with everybody returns only a match for the Male; Reunion does not offer to Merge the female;
ii. Selecting the Female comparing with everybody returns no matches (???)
iii. Selecting Both comparing to everybody returns a match for the other Male _and_ offers to Merge the Female too

(b) When dragging people from the People sidebar onto the couple:
i. When dragging the second instance of the Male onto the Male in the Family view, it _does not_ offer to Merge the Female
ii. When dragging the second instance of the Female onto the Female in the Family view, it _does_ offer to Merge the Male

The only only difference between the two females is the Match & Merge Notes field. When I eliminate the Match & Merge Notes field, this undocumented behaviour does not happen, so Reunion must be using the information when executing Match & Merge. (The data is lodged in Reunion's name cache; when writing a Match & Merge Notes field from scratch, one has to Rebuild the Caches first so Reunion uses this updated information)


Using the Match & Merge Notes field to record variations of a person's First & Mid or Last Name is a weak solution, as this always leads to data loss, since the Source of the information is not captured there. Variations can be recorded in the Names tab, yes, attaching Sources to the Name and recording the variation in the Memo field, but that construction is not GEDCOM compliant nor lead to re-usable data when Checking for Duplicate Names. (Insert self-congratulary note: see post on this in the Wish List section)

That said, the manner in which Reunion Merges people is weak and a source of data loss. While Reunion correctly merges Names sources, General sources, and sources for identical Events, it does not do so Source of identical Facts. (As Match & Merge in the attached case will illustrate.) This behaviour is also not documented.