1.

Open the source project(s).

2.

Launch the Duplicates Finder (in Tools -> Misc Tools) and search for duplicate sections and nodes in the option list in the bottom-left corner:

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3.

The result will show you where you have duplicated asset IDs in your project.  All duplicate instances should be considered carefully, and good engineering judgement made on how to handle each one based on the object ID’s data.

• Clicking the ‘Resolve all’ button will solve many of the problems by converting two instances of the same pipe ID into one pipe ID with two inspections (also for nodes), but can also introduce new problems if the two assets really are different pipes and the error is that one of the pipe IDs is incorrect.

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4.

Run the WinCan VX Validation tool and resolve all errors on sections, laterals and nodes.

5.

Repeat steps 2 – 4 for all the source projects and the target project.

6.

Backup the target database files (Note – this will be automatically done in WinCan VX from version 8.0 onwards).  To do this, simply copy and paste the database files inside the project DB folder to a new location (recommended is [Project Folder] -> Misc -> Backup).  This is the save location of the auto-backup feature in v8.0 and higher.

• There is no need to backup the source project database files because these will not be modified during the merge process.

• The reason for doing this is that during the merge process, the target database will be modified, so in the unlikely event that the result is not what is expected, then it is easy to restore the target databases back to how they were before the merge.

1.

Open the Project Merger and go directly to the Wizard Settings from the File menu:

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2.

In the Section tab, ensure the Section options are set to ‘Standard merging’:

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3.

In the Node tab, ensure the Node options are set to ‘Standard merging’:

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4.

In the Lateral tab, ensure the Lateral options are set to ‘Standard merging’:

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5.

Click the green tick to proceed and go back to the main merging window.

6.

Select the source project or projects (you can select more than one if you need to):

• Note – only projects in your WinCan VX project list are available for merging.

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7.

Click the ‘Next’ button.

8.

Select the target project (it only needs to be highlighted):

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9.

Click the ‘Next’ button and you will be presented with a summary of the options that you have selected for review.

10.

Click the ‘Next’ button again to execute the merge process.

11.

When the merge has finished, open the target project and repeat steps 2 – 4 again.  There are likely to now be some data duplicates in your project, and these can confidently be resolved by clicking the ‘Resolve all’ button this time.

12.

There are now likely to be multiple inspections of some assets (particularly nodes), where one or more of the inspections are empty with no tangible data attached.  To clear out these unwanted inspections, select the ‘Delete empty inspections’ option (in Tools -> Misc Tools, only available in WinCan VX v9.0 and higher) and execute:

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2.

In the Section tab, ensure the Section options are set to ‘Differential' merging:

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3.

In the Node tab, ensure the Node options are set to ‘Differential' merging:

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4.

In the Lateral tab, ensure the Lateral options are set to ‘Differential' merging:

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