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When merging two people what happens to sources?

EVollmer1
EVollmer1 ✭
January 25, 2021 edited August 12, 2021 in Family Tree
When merging two people what happens to sources?

What happens to sources of duplicate person when merging on Family Tree?

I can't seem to find the answer on the Help option. Are we not able to transfer part of the duplicate's information to the new one?

Thanks

Elaine

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  • Dennis J Yancey
    Dennis J Yancey ✭✭✭✭✭
    January 25, 2021

    most of the items would get merged automatically - including Memories items.

    thats the pupose of a merge.

    but give it a try - just to prove it.

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  • EVollmer1
    EVollmer1 ✭
    January 25, 2021

    OK. I tried it and it was on the page after you click "continue" that Family Tree allows you to add information from the person being deleted to the other. The sources went automatically. Thanks for the encouragement to take thaat next step. If it didn't work I would have had to retrace several steps and locate several sources. It worked! Thanks!

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  • JeffWiseman
    JeffWiseman ✭✭✭
    January 25, 2021

    For what it's worth, the assumption here is that if you have determined that those two records you want to merge really ARE duplicate records, then you MUST transfer all sources to the surviving PID. After all, they are the same person, right?

     

    The same thing applies to all RELATIONSHIPS. Relationships attached to both of the duplicate records should be accumulated together. So by default, all the relationships are also set up to come over automatically as well. Unfortunately, FS has left in the ability to REMOVE relationships during the merge which should NEVER be allowed!

     

    If you find that either of the PIDs to be merged have sources or relationships attached to them that will not belong in the surviving PID, they are evidence that one or both of the PIDs are schizophrenic and contain information representing more than one person. These issues need to be resolved BEFORE any merge is attempted. If you go on with the merge, it will be far more difficult to clean up the bad merges later.

     

    That's why relationships (or sources) that don't apply during a merge should be individually removed from the original PIDs they are attached to BEFORE the merge. The severe weaknesses of the change history logs make trying to track such things in order to correct them pretty well impossible.

    0
  • JeffWiseman
    JeffWiseman ✭✭✭
    January 25, 2021

    For what it's worth, the assumption here is that if you have determined that those two records you want to merge really ARE duplicate records, then you MUST transfer all sources to the surviving PID. After all, they are the same person, right?

     

    The same thing applies to all RELATIONSHIPS. Relationships attached to both of the duplicate records should be accumulated together. So by default, all the relationships are also set up to come over automatically as well. Unfortunately, FS has left in the ability to REMOVE relationships during the merge which should NEVER be allowed!

     

    If you find that either of the PIDs to be merged have sources or relationships attached to them that will not belong in the surviving PID, they are evidence that one or both of the PIDs are schizophrenic and contain information representing more than one person. These issues need to be resolved BEFORE any merge is attempted. If you go on with the merge, it will be far more difficult to clean up the bad merges later.

     

    That's why relationships (or sources) that don't apply during a merge should be individually removed from the original PIDs they are attached to BEFORE the merge. The severe weaknesses of the change history logs make trying to track such things in order to correct them pretty well impossible.

    0
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