I get files of new (and potentially new) visitors from other sources on a regular basis. (I manage RE, yet there are some other data sources that still exist within the organization). The new visitors need to be added to RE, and those already in the database need to either have information updated/added or no change is needed at all. This process has become VERY time-consuming because I find myself having to do so much manual searching to be absolutely sure that the record is not a duplicate, and also to find out what within the records needs updating. The duplication criteria capabilities within RE are very "black and white." I find that most of the potential duplicates my imports identify are usually NOT duplicates. However, you want to keep that criteria fairly "loose", otherwise it doesn't find any potential dups when they do exist. Does anyone use record duplication/comparison software outside of RE? I am interested to know how people handle large imports without having to perform a lot of manual work? [i]--- Edited at 8/3/2007 9:37:58 AM by Ann Bullock[/i]

Hi Ann, I have a plug-in that a number of clients use that looks up the ID of the constituent before being imported into Raiser's Edge. The problem with the duplication criteria in RE is two fold. Firstly it is not flexible enough and secondly if RE does not find a dupe it imports it by which time it is too late. My product IDLookup does just that but to your import file and appends the ids and the number of matches it finds. You can read more about it here: http://www.zeidman.info/downloads/IDLookup.htm  Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need any more information. Thanks David Zeidman Development http://www.zeidman.info  Check out my RE API blog http://re-decoded.com

Thanks for your reply, Dave. Unless I am not understanding something about the plug-in, I don't think it would help me. The sources I get these records from have no ID because they were not associated with RE when created. Did I understand you correctly? Thanks again, Ann [i]--- Edited at 8/3/2007 9:37:37 AM by Ann Bullock[/i]

Actually that is just what it is there for. It looks up the ID based on name and address criteria so that you can tell whether or not the constituent already exists and if it does exist you are given their constituent and import id. So it is perfect for lists where you do not know the RE constituent id. David Zeidman Development http://www.zeidman.info  Check out my RE API blog http://re-decoded.com

David - Would you mind contacting me directly about this plugin? I have a few questions about what parameters it uses to search the database. And pricing for more than one download. Thanks! Tracie Cassidy Database Coordinator Seattle Children's Hospital Foundation (206) 987-6833 [Email Removed]

Thank you everyone for downloading IDLookup. I have updated the installation instructions as I have been told that there have been some difficulties installing IDLookup. I should make it clear that this is a demo of the full version. It is tied to the sample database. The instructions can be found on my blog: http://www.re-decoded.com/2007/09/installing-idlookup/  If you still have problems installing it then please do not hesitate to contact me. Zeidman Development http://www.zeidman.info  Check out my RE API blog http://re-decoded.com