Before you can run a merge process you must add a constituent merge configuration or use the default configuration provided. Merge configurations determine the data that is merged from source records to target records when a merge process runs.
Merge configurations allow you to specify the “merge tasks” for a respective merge processes. For example, you can add a merge configuration to merge only demographic data and another configuration to merge only gift data. In this case, you would add a configuration and select only the demographic-related merge tasks. Additionally, you would add a second configuration and select only the gift-related tasks. For information about each merge task you can select, see Constituent Merge Tasks.
Note: Social Security Numbers are not merged as part of a duplicate constituent merge process. If a source record and a target record have different Social Security Numbers, the number on the target constituent is retained. If the target constituent record has no Social Security Number, the Social Security Number field stays blank after the merge. The program does not retain Social Security Number of the source constituent.
To view the merge configurations for your organization, select the Merge configurations tab on the Constituent Merge page. A default configuration is provided. You can add a new configuration or use the default. If you want to use the default, you can edit it as needed to meet your needs.
Under Merge configurations, the names and descriptions appear for each configuration that has been added. To update the information in the grid, click Refresh List on the action bar. Depending on your security rights, you can add, edit, and delete merge configurations from the grid.