Copyright: Copyright © 1997-2002 Palm, Inc. or its subsidiaries. All rights reserved.
Citation: Copyright © 1997-2002 Palm, Inc. or its subsidiaries. All rights reserved.


Delete Duplicates Overview

If you have double entries on your handheld or if errors occur during a HotSync® operation, this can cause duplicate records in some Palm™ Desktop software applications. Delete Duplicates searches for, displays, and lets you delete duplicate records in Date Book, Address Book, To Do List, and Memo Pad.

You can select which Palm Desktop software application you want to search. You can search for exact matches or records with similar but not exact information. If matching records are found, you can view the details of each record, and then decide which records to save or delete.

What do you want to do?

 Find duplicate records

 Delete duplicate records

 Learn how Delete Duplicates searches for duplicate records


Finding Duplicate Records

To find duplicate records

1.	Do one of the following:

•	From the Tools menu, choose Addins, and then choose Delete Duplicates.

•	Click the Delete Duplicates icon [image] on the toolbar.

2.	Select the check box of each Palm Desktop application to search.

3.	(Optional) Deselect Search for Exact Matches if you want Delete Duplicates to find records with similar but not exactly the same information.

For example, if two items in To Do List have identical descriptions but are in different Categories, Search for Exact Matches will display these records as duplicates. See Tips when Searching for Duplicate Records to learn what criteria Delete Duplicates uses to find duplicate records.

4.	Click Search.

Note   If you have private records hidden or masked, the search ignores those records. To display private records and make sure they are included, see Hiding and Showing Private Records for more information.

5.	If duplicate records are found, click the Details button.

6.	Delete the duplicate records you don't want to keep.

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Delete Duplicates Dialog Box

Use the Delete Duplicates dialog box to select which Palm™ Desktop software applications to search and see a list of duplicate records.

Select the Application to Search	Select the check box of the Palm Desktop software application that you want to search.
Search	Click this button to start the search.
Search for Exact Matches	Select this check box to only find records with exactly the same information. For example, if you have two Address Book records for Susan Riley but the category is different, these records aren't considered duplicates. See Tips when Searching for Duplicate Records for more information.
Mark Items to Delete	View a list of groups of duplicates records to be found.  Check Box. Displays a check mark that shows whether or not records that are marked to be deleted in the Details dialog box should be deleted. No. Shows the number of this group. This number appears in the Details dialog box.  Description. Displays a description of the records. For example, for Address Book, Description shows the first and last name.  #Dups. Shows the total number of duplicate records that were found. Location. Displays the name of the Palm Desktop application in which the duplicate records were found.


Deleting Duplicate Records

To delete duplicate records

1.	Find any duplicate records.

2.	Select the group for which you want to view details.

3.	Click the Details button.

4.	Select the check box for each record you want to delete.

A large shaded X appears on any record marked for deletion.

If you selected Search for Exact Matches, Delete Duplicates selects all of the duplicate records for deletion, except the first one.

If you did not select Search for Exact Matches, select which records to delete or keep.

5.	Use the horizontal scroll bar to display other records in this group and mark them for deletion.

6.	Click the Up or Down arrow to display the next group of duplicate records.

7.	Repeat Steps 4 through 6 for each group.

8.	Click OK.

A check mark appears in front of any group that has records to delete.

Note   If you deselect the check box and click the Delete button, Delete Duplicates doesn't delete any marked records from this group. You must select the check box for records to be deleted.

9.	Click Delete.

10.	Click OK.

Important   By default, Palm™ Desktop software archives the deleted records during the next HotSync® operation. See Using Archives for more information.

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Tips when Searching for Duplicate Records

Delete Duplicates searches for and finds different records depending on whether Search for Exact Matches is selected or not.

If the option Search for Exact Matches is selected, the records have to be identical. Delete Duplicates compares each field in every record including:

•	Looking for any spaces at the beginning or end of each field

•	Checking whether the text is uppercase or lowercase

If the option Search for Exact Matches is not selected, Delete Duplicates searches only certain fields in each record. Delete Duplicates checks these fields in each record:

•	Address Book—Last Name, First Name, and Company

•	Memo Pad—Memo

•	To Do List—Description and Due Date

•	Date Book—Date, Time, and Description

Additionally, if the option Search for Exact Matches is not selected, Delete Duplicates compares the information in each record by doing the following:

•	Ignoring any spaces at the beginning or end of each field

•	Ignoring whether the text is uppercase or lowercase

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Details Dialog Box

Use the Details dialog box to view the information about each duplicate record.

Group Number	Displays the current group's number.
Duplicate Records	Shows each duplicate record found in the group. A large shaded X appears on records selected for deletion. Depending on whether Search for Exact Matches was selected or deselected, Delete Duplicates automatically selects certain records for deletion.
Up or Down Arrow	Click the Up arrow to view the previous group. Click the Down arrow to view the next group.


Delete Items Dialog Box

Use the Delete Items dialog box to choose whether to permanently remove the currently selected records or save them to an archive file.

Archive Deleted Item(s) at Next HotSync Operation Check Box	Select this check box to archive deleted records during the next HotSync® operation. Deselect the check box to permanently remove records. The archive file is saved for the current Palm™ Desktop software application.


Copyright and Trademarks

Copyright © 1997-2002 Palm, Inc. All rights reserved. HotSync is a registered trademark of Palm, Inc. Palm is a trademark of Palm, Inc. Other product and brand names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.