Entity mergingΒΆ

If two entities are found to be duplicates, they may be merged together. This is preferable to simply deleting one, for two reasons:

  1. If the entities (may) have both been referenced, then deleting one breaks those references.
  2. Any information on the entity to be deleted that is not shared with the other entity must be manually added.

Merging one entity into another avoids both of these problems. The URLs for the merged entity are associated with the other entity, and all property assertions for that entity are merged in with those of the other entity.

The merging of property assertions is simple. If the identical information is present on both entities, and the property assertion is not a name or entity relationship, the duplicate will be discarded; otherwise, it is effectively copied over. This may mean (such as with identical names) that there are duplicates that must be manually deleted, but this is easily done in the editing interface.

Merging is a one way process that cannot be undone. To merge two entities together, use the link at the bottom of the edit page for the entity that will be merged into.