If you find that one student has more than one record in the Student Database app (SDB) you can easily delete the duplicate after having moved over its activity to the proper record.
How to merge a duplicate student into the proper student
1. In the Student Database app (SDB) - go to the proper student's Student Record Card select 'Merge' to begin:
2. Auto-match immediately lists all possible matching dupes (in this example the email has been matched and highlighted as the matching field):
You can select that match as your duplicate and proceed to step 4 below.
Note: If you want to change the filters in auto-match, click the Auto cog, and select or deselect from the available filters:
3. Alternatively, to carry out a manual match, click on 'Manual' and enter your own search. In the following example we have already tagged "the wrong Jane" and know which tag to match:
4. Select the duplicate and merge. (AKA "Merge & Purge" as the duplicate record gets purged - after its history has been merged.) This may take a few moments to run, however you can check on the merge status of all merge runs in the 'Duplicates' tool in the Data Manager app:
5. Outcome: The complete history of the duplicates' activity will now appear inside the proper student's Activity Log and record card. The duplicate no longer exists.
FAQS:
Q. Once I have merged, can this be reversed?
A. No. This genie does not go back into the bottle.
Q. What is copied across from the duplicate to the proper record?
A. Everything that the duplicate ever did is moved across - preserving the original time it happened - and now belongs to the proper student. The following activity with the duplicate's Student ID is included: APS, APV, ENQ, AOD, POD, EVM, MEC, PRQ, RAP, SRV, Email Stats, Logs, UTM stats, Tags, Associations. The proper record's Consents and Topics are preserved. If the duplicate is still in an old segment and it is not refreshed with a re-run, then the duplicate no longer appears in those results after merging. (Limitations: If a duplicate previously existed in an old Campaign CSV download or an old SDD data file it will remain there after merging.)
Q. What happens to the engagement scores?
A. They are added together in a sum, example: student A scores +50, student B scores -20, so, the result on the proper student A is a score of +30.
Q. What if the student subsequently clicks a link in an email that is linked to the old duplicate record?
A. It gets automagically re-routed to the proper student and appears as an email stat (open, click, etc) for that campaign or touchpoint but now resolving to the proper student.
Q. Can I select certain fields from one student with other fields from the other?
A. No. This is a 'winner takes all' merge. The proper student card's personal fields (name, address, mobile, etc) are NOT overwritten with fields from the duplicate. If, when you inspect the duplicate, you see a field that you want to preserve, you must copy and paste that value over to the proper record before you merge.
Q. I have found that one student has more than one dupe, and I want to merge all 3 into one, can I do that?
A. No. Not in one operation. You must do that as 2 separate operations, one for each dupe.
Q. Can I change the auto-match rules?
A. Yes. If you want to change the filters in auto-match, click the Auto cog, and add or remove the 3 built-in filters.
Q. Can I add my own auto-match rules?
A. No.
Q. Is the merge process instant?
A. Nearly. It is instantly handed off to one of our jobs queues to be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. You probably won't detect the wait time, which is usually measured in milliseconds (ms).
Q. Can I see which students I have merged?
A. Yes. All proper students get a log entry in the proper student's activity log saying who merged them, when and with which record. You can also search for any merged (even deleted) student in the 'Duplicates' tool in the Data Manager app. The log of the merge run is stored for both the Proper record and the Duplicate record, but you won't be able to click through to the deleted one.