Merging projects
- Daniel Steiner
Merging Projects
Project merging is a process during which WinCan VX takes data from two or more projects (source projects) and copies them into one single project (target project).
All the projects you want to merge should have the same template and the same damage standard. Otherwise, any subsequent country specific data export by the user is likely to include incorrect results.
It is recommended to always copy the data from the source projects to an empty target project. The merge module is launched with the button Data Exchange > Merger.
Once launched, the Merging Wizard opens and asks for the information needed to complete the merge process.
Firstly, select the source projects that you would like to merge by ticking the box to the right of the required project names in the list of projects available on your computer (1):
You can also include projects that are not contained in your project list but are connected to the PC by using the Add button at the bottom (2). Click Next to continue. The panel below with the extended option group is displayed only when activating the command File > Expert Mode.
If not activated the merging wizard is setting default values within this option group as well as in the panels for further preferences (3).
Click Next to highlight the target project you want to have the source data merged into:
Click Next twice and wait until the progress bar completes and shows green:
The source project data are now copied into the target project. Click on the button Finish to quit the merge module and view the result in WinCanVX.
Merge Settings
The software WinCan VX is always copying the project data table by table. Data of each table or table group can also be merged applying different specific procedures as described below:
Copy new inspection data only (without any section data) AND overwrite old inspection data
Copy sections only WITHOUT the corresponding manholes
Copy manholes only WITHOUT the corresponding section
These options will allow a faster data merge as soon as large projects are going to be copied. To modify the settings start the merging wizard and select the command File > Wizard Settings:
The settings dialogue is providing separate tabs for each object category (sections, manholes, satellites etc.). You may now assign a specific merge option for every table within an object category and define how and whether the data should be copied to the target project.
The available merging options are described below:
No merging: The data of the selected tables are not copied into the target project.
Add only merging: This option always creates a new object. Existing objects (i.e. sections and inspections) with the same name are not modified or overwritten. Duplicated sections have to be manually deleted by the user.
Update merging: Previously exported objects are updated or overwritten. New objects are always added. This option is mainly applied when exporting data to a CCTV truck.
Standard merging: All existing objects are overwritten. New objects are always added.
Differential merging: Only recently created or updated objects are copied. This option is currently not yet implemented.
The tab Other contains further object categories (e.g. templates (templates), media files (photos and videos)) which the user can assign a specific merge option to:
Any modification of these default assignments should be done by experienced users only in order to avoid error risks when merging projects.
To minimize the error risk during a merge process the user may simply choose one of the four different predefined strategies available in the expert mode of the merge wizard as shown below: