De-dupe, Merge and Purge Output Files

FlexMail can generate up to three different output files as the result of a de-duplication, merge, or purge task. These are:

The New Survivor Records File

The new survivor records file is a file that FlexMail creates if the Write survivor records to new file option is selected. The file is created out of all the records that have been marked as "survivors" as the result of a de-duplication, merge, or purge process.

The field layout FlexMail uses for creating the new file is exactly the same as the layout of the file that was linked and shown in the FlexMail datasheet when you started the process.

The Purged Records File

The Purged Records file is a file that FlexMail creates if the Move purged records to file option is selected. The file is created out of all the records that have been marked as records to be purged. The records stored in the purged records file have been cut from their respective source file. When this file is created, no data is lost as the result of a task being run; purged records are moved to this file instead of being deleted outright.

The field layout FlexMail uses for saving the purged records is exactly the same as the layout of the file that was linked and shown in the FlexMail datasheet when you started the process.

The Duplicate List

The duplicate list is created whenever you select the Write duplicate list to file option. This file contains the same data as appears on the Duplicates and Process Duplicate window.

The field layout of the record is the same as the file that was linked and shown in the FlexMail datasheet when you started the process, but is preceded by a number indicating the file the record originates from, the duplicate group number, and the duplicate number within the group. When the duplicates have been processed, a field is added that indicates whether the record was marked as a survivor (SAV) or was marked for purging (DEL).

Which files are generated depend on the settings you have made for the task and the output options you have selected. You select the output options in the Output Files window of the Find Duplicates, Merge, and Purge wizards.

For each output file you can select one of the following file formats that FlexMail can create: Access, dBase, Excel, HTML, Text File, or XML formats.