Merging duplicates

Over time, duplicate entries creep into every database: the same owner created twice, a vet stored more than once, or an animal recorded twice. TheraTap helps you find such duplicates and merge them – including all linked data.

Note

In TheraTap, vets are regular contacts assigned to an animal as its “vet”. They are merged just like any other contact.

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Finding likely duplicates

Under Settings → Tools → Duplicates, TheraTap automatically lists records that are likely duplicated:

• Contacts – grouped by identical name, email or mobile/landline number.
• Patients – grouped by identical name, species and the same owner. This avoids flagging same-named animals of different owners (e.g. many a “Balu”) as duplicates.

Archived records are excluded.

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Merging two records

1. Open Settings → Tools → Duplicates – or go directly to the contact/patient and click Merge in the sidebar.

2. Select the duplicate record (if a group has more than two matches, use Merge… on the record that should survive). The preview shows which record will be kept and which values are carried over.

3. Use Swap to choose which of the two records survives. Empty fields of the surviving record are filled automatically from the second one; existing values stay unchanged.

4. Confirm with Merge.

All linked data of the duplicate is moved onto the surviving record:

• Contacts: appointments, invoices, tasks, stamp cards, comments, files, activities and all animal assignments (owner, vet, etc.).
• Patients: records, appointments, tasks, invoices, therapy plans, preventive care, info cards, anamnesis forms, comments, files, messages and all contact assignments.

The duplicate is then archived – nothing is lost.

Tip

If an animal has the same person in the same role on both records (e.g. the same vet twice), the assignment is de-duplicated automatically – exactly one entry remains.

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Deleting contacts & patients

Contacts: You can archive a contact (bring it back via Restore in the archived contact record) or remove it permanently via Delete. Archiving a contact also archives the animals it owns, unless a second owner is still active. Archived contacts no longer receive automatic reminders; restoring the contact brings the animals archived along with it back. When deleting permanently, linked animals are automatically detached from this contact and kept.

Patients: Archive retires an animal record (optionally with a date of death); the data stays visible but can no longer be edited. Because animal records count towards the record limit in many plans, archived animal records can only be restored in plans that include this feature. Delete permanently removes the animal record including all treatment records.

Caution

Permanent deletion cannot be undone. If in doubt, archive the record or merge it with the correct entry instead.