Merge Places

[macRBC]

I've used the merge feature while using the Sidebar and find it very helpful. However, I find it hard to drag/drop when the two places are far apart. The long scroll isn't always continuous (pause at end of screen or too fast) and I worry I'll merge the wrong places. What alternates are there?

Apple County, New York, USA

to merge into

Worm, Apple County, USA

[Mark]

Re: Merge Places

If you double-click on one of the places to rename it, and give it the same name as the place you want to merge it with (the autocomplete place names feature will probably help here), the two places will be merged.

HTH

[macRBC]

Re: Merge Places

But what happens when there are tons of "affected" entries? Then it's not as simple.

[Gregg]

Re: Merge Places

But what happens when there are tons of "affected" entries? Then it's not as simple.

Keep in mind that you can shorten the Place List by entering text in the search box at the top of the list. Assuming that you are merging places that are somewhat similar, it might be as simple as entering one word that both places have in common.

[AE Palmer]

Re: Merge Places

But what happens when there are tons of "affected" entries? Then it's not as simple.

You are now dealing with a problem all database designers face –– it is called data normalization. As you have discovered, Reunion has a couple of ways to deal with this situation: the "drag-and-drop" and the "double-click on the name" functions. Both are useful in correcting [nearly] identical duplicates.

That said, your situation may be much deeper than merely the occasional misspelling of a location. To be truly accurate in recording place names you need to:
1. ALWAYS use the name of the place in its HISTORICAL context!
2. NEVER abbreviate anything! Especially state names.
3. Always use “Address, City, County, State, Country” order.
4. Always include the word “County” when defining the county level.
5. If part of the location is unknown or questionable, always use [?] to identify its questionable status.

In dealing with your specific comment, I have found through hard experience that when confronted with this problem, it is best to start with second largest block of names and rename it to match the largest block. Then on to the next smaller block. (Essentially: capture, rename and save the change, then repeat the process.) In most cases it will take only three or four rounds to consolidate the disparate names into a single entry.

I can very much relate to your problem in that I spent many (100+) hours going through my list of place names to consolidate and remove hundreds of duplicate entries. Was this effort worth it? Resoundingly, yes! It offers a vastly smaller list of place names and a tremendously more effective search process when using the Find Function on place names. It also speeds up the data entry process when adding new events! Thus, it is a win, win, win situation.

[MarcIrish]

Re: Merge Places

You are now dealing with a problem all database designers face –– it is called data normalization. As you have discovered, Reunion has a couple of ways to deal with this situation: the "drag-and-drop" and the "double-click on the name" functions. Both are useful in correcting [nearly] identical duplicates.

That said, your situation may be much deeper than merely the occasional misspelling of a location. To be truly accurate in recording place names you need to:
1. ALWAYS use the name of the place in its HISTORICAL context!
2. NEVER abbreviate anything! Especially state names.
3. Always use “Address, City, County, State, Country” order.
4. Always include the word “County” when defining the county level.
5. If part of the location is unknown or questionable, always use [?] to identify its questionable status.

In dealing with your specific comment, I have found through hard experience that when confronted with this problem, it is best to start with second largest block of names and rename it to match the largest block. Then on to the next smaller block. (Essentially: capture, rename and save the change, then repeat the process.) In most cases it will take only three or four rounds to consolidate the disparate names into a single entry.

I can very much relate to your problem in that I spent many (100+) hours going through my list of place names to consolidate and remove hundreds of duplicate entries. Was this effort worth it? Resoundingly, yes! It offers a vastly smaller list of place names and a tremendously more effective search process when using the Find Function on place names. It also speeds up the data entry process when adding new events! Thus, it is a win, win, win situation.

How do you verify the historic name? And do you also maintain the current name too?

[Olivia Culver]

Re: Merge Places

You are now dealing with a problem all database designers face –– it is called data normalization. As you have discovered, Reunion has a couple of ways to deal with this situation: the "drag-and-drop" and the "double-click on the name" functions. Both are useful in correcting [nearly] identical duplicates.

That said, your situation may be much deeper than merely the occasional misspelling of a location. To be truly accurate in recording place names you need to:
1. ALWAYS use the name of the place in its HISTORICAL context!
2. NEVER abbreviate anything! Especially state names.
3. Always use “Address, City, County, State, Country” order.
4. Always include the word “County” when defining the county level.
5. If part of the location is unknown or questionable, always use [?] to identify its questionable status.

In dealing with your specific comment, I have found through hard experience that when confronted with this problem, it is best to start with second largest block of names and rename it to match the largest block. Then on to the next smaller block. (Essentially: capture, rename and save the change, then repeat the process.) In most cases it will take only three or four rounds to consolidate the disparate names into a single entry.

I can very much relate to your problem in that I spent many (100+) hours going through my list of place names to consolidate and remove hundreds of duplicate entries. Was this effort worth it? Resoundingly, yes! It offers a vastly smaller list of place names and a tremendously more effective search process when using the Find Function on place names. It also speeds up the data entry process when adding new events! Thus, it is a win, win, win situation.

Thank you for posting the rules you use. I have been using the postal abbreviations for states in the interest of brevity. Is there a way to find all uses of say "NY" and have it replaced with "New York"?

Another problem in New York State, at least, is that often a hamlet or village may have the same name as the Town. (NY counties are subdivided into Towns, not Townships.) Birth, death and marriage records are often kept by the Town Clerk so it is important information to record.

Olivia Culver

[theKiwi]

Re: Merge Places

Thank you for posting the rules you use. I have been using the postal abbreviations for states in the interest of brevity. Is there a way to find all uses of say "NY" and have it replaced with "New York"?

As long as what you're trying to replace has been consistently entered then you can change them all as long as you stringently setup and follow a procedure.

Go to Find in the left sidebar and then Find and Replace at the bottom. In the dialogue that comes up choose Places from the pop up menu so that your actions are only performed on place names.

The other choices depend on what you have entered - for example if you've used

Someplace, Some Town, NY, USA until now, then you might choose to replace

, NY,

with

, New York,

But if your places haven't been as well and uniformly entered as that then you might have to do it in smaller bites, or different steps - the last thing you want to do is to turn say

SUNY, NY,

in to

SUNew York, New York,

for example.

Make sure you work on a copy of your file so you can easily restore if you mess up - there is no Undo for this procedure.

Roger

[Dennis J. Cunniff]

Re: Merge Places

But if your places haven't been as well and uniformly entered as that then you might have to do it in smaller bites, or different steps - the last thing you want to do is to turn say

SUNY, NY,
into
SUNew York, New York.

You can avoid this by specifying "Whole words only" rather than "Any match" when you replace "NY" with "New York" in Places only. I'd also probably make it "Case sensitive."

[Michael Talibard]

Re: Merge Places

...
3. Always use “Address, City, County, State, Country” order.

That's fine for the USA. For each country, one needs a different but equivalent smaller-to-larger order, often with fewer elements. For example, 'City' and/or 'State' may need to be omitted, either in single cases, or systematically.

[AE Palmer]

Re: Merge Places

How do you verify the historic name? And do you also maintain the current name too?

I usually verify historic place names using period (contemporary) maps, atlases and gazetteers. Local histories are also great sources for this purpose. Other sources include county plat maps and histories.

[AE Palmer]

Re: Merge Places

That's fine for the USA. For each country, one needs a different but equivalent smaller-to-larger order, often with fewer elements. For example, 'City' and/or 'State' may need to be omitted, either in single cases, or systematically.

True. But from my experiene, most countries follow a similar set of "rules." In some cases the "state" is replaced by "provence," and county is replaced by "shire."

[Olivia Culver]

Re: Merge Places

As long as what you're trying to replace has been consistently entered then you can change them all as long as you stringently setup and follow a procedure.

Go to Find in the left sidebar and then Find and Replace at the bottom. In the dialogue that comes up choose Places from the pop up menu so that your actions are only performed on place names.

The other choices depend on what you have entered - for example if you've used

Someplace, Some Town, NY, USA until now, then you might choose to replace

, NY,

with

, New York,

But if your places haven't been as well and uniformly entered as that then you might have to do it in smaller bites, or different steps - the last thing you want to do is to turn say

SUNY, NY,

in to

SUNew York, New York,

for example.

Make sure you work on a copy of your file so you can easily restore if you mess up - there is no Undo for this procedure.

Roger

Thank you Roger and Dennis for your replies. I will try your ideas on a copy of my file.

Olivia