Merge People

When you have duplicate profiles for the same person, we definitely want to allow you to merge or combine those profiles together so that your database can be as accurate as possible. Many times if you have our team move in your data from different systems, you could end up with duplicates and it is wise to clean the database up by merging them together. 

It should be understood that there is no way to undo the merge people action. The restore option in Breeze only is able to restore the deleted person, but the data is not properly parsed out to the corresponding "people" that were merged together. 

Merge an Individual

There may be times where you end up with duplicate names in the database. This can be especially problematic if there are some giving or attendance records associated with each of the names so that simply deleting one is not an ideal solution. To solve this, you can merge two records together.

1. Navigate to the Account Settings () and select Bulk Tasks.
2. Select the first person you'd like to merge in the "Person 1" box.
3. Select the duplicated person you'd like to merge them with in the "Person 2" box.

Merge All Duplicates

If you are new to Breeze and have many duplicates in your database, merging them all at the same time might be beneficial. Breeze will assume people with the same name are in fact the same person. When there is conflicting data, the person's profile who has been most recently been created takes priority.

1. Navigate to the Account Settings ()
2. Select Bulk Tasks.
3. Choose Merge People from the lefthand side
4. Click the group icon in the upper right (looks like three people).
5. Click Merge All Duplicate People. 
   

Show Duplicates

This list view of duplicates brings up a list of all the people in the database who appear to be duplicates (having the same first and last name). From this screen, users can quickly merge any of them together. This is the recommend way to look through duplicates

To bring up the list: 

1. Navigate to the Account Settings () and select Bulk Tasks, and select Merge People.
2. Click the list icon in the upper right (four lines).
3. You'll now see a list of people who the system thinks appear to be duplicates.
4. To merge one set of them together, click "View # Duplicates" to the right of their name.
5. Click Merge to merge those duplicated profiles together for that person.¹

What Happens When I Merge People?

As you merge those profiles, several areas of your Breeze account may be affected. 

Below is an overview of the areas that are affected when merging duplicate profiles together:

What information takes priority?

• Person 2 is merged into Person 1 - the information in Person 2 will be overwritten, and the information for Person 1 will be maintained if there is data in the same fields for both profiles.
• Profile Pictures - Person 1's photo will be maintained
• Because of how phone numbers are stored in the database, if person 1 has a mobile number and person 2 has a home number, only the mobile number will be retained. If person 1 has no phone numbers and person 2 has phone numbers, all the numbers will be retained in person 1. 

How does this affect attendance records?

• Attendance records - if both profiles are checked into the same event(s), the total attendance count for those event(s) will be reduced by 1 (Example: attendance for last Sunday's service is 130, it will be 129 after the two profiles are merged together)
• If both profiles are checked into different events, their attendance records will remain for all of the events that each person was checked into (Example: Person 1 attended Sunday School, and Person 2 attended Worship Service on Sunday. After the duplicate profiles are merged, the individual's attendance records will show that they were checked into Sunday School and Worship Service.)

How does this affect Contribution information?

• Contributions - Contribution information will be combined, and entries for both Person 1 and Person 2 will be listed and accounted for

How will this affect Form entries?

• Forms - If a form has been completed by Person 1 and Person 2, both form entries will still be visible in Form Results. Additionally, if the form entries were connected to each profile, the information listed for Person 1 will overwrite any conflicting information for Person 2 (Example: Addresses are different for each form entry, and the address for Person 1 is still maintained as the address in their profile field.)

How will this affect which tags each profile has been added to?

• Tags - Tag information will be combined, and the individual attached to a tag for both Person 1 and Person 2 will still be found in all of those tags (Example: Person 1 was in 12 tags, Person 2 was in 1 tag prior to the merge. Person 1 is now in 13 tags after the merge.)

Also, prior to merging the duplicate profiles together, it may be helpful to export or download the information for each profile into an Excel file to use as a backup if you are unsure of information that may be overwritten or altered as you merge them together.

Using the 'Ignore' Option

In managing your church's database, you may encounter situations where Breeze identifies potential duplicate records that are not actual duplicates. To address these cases, the "Ignore" option is a valuable tool that allows you to maintain separate records for each individual, ensuring accuracy and integrity in your database management.

How the 'Ignore' Option Works:

Identifying False Duplicates: When reviewing potential duplicates, you might find that the records flagged by the system do not refer to the same person. This can happen due to similarities in names, addresses, or other shared details that cause the system to mistakenly suggest a merge.

How to Use the 'Ignore' Option

1. Next to each set of potential duplicates, click the View Duplicates link.
2. Use the dropdown menu next to the button displaying 'Merge'. Clicking the dropdown, you'll see 'Ignore'. Select Ignore. 
3. Confirm your selection. Clicking this will instruct Breeze to overlook the flagged records as duplicates. 

Effect on Database Records: Once you select 'Ignore,' Breeze will remove the duplicate suggestion from your current duplicates list. More importantly, the system will remember your action, preventing these particular records from being flagged as duplicates in future searches. Removing false positives from the duplicate detection process helps keep your database clean and focused.