MatchUp Object:Blank Field Matching

This needs a special discussion, as its importance is often overlooked. As discussed above, if this property is on, then the absence of data in both records would indicate a match. If this property is off, then two records with missing data, but matching in every other way, will not match.

The following example demonstrates when Blank set to ON allows a match on a non-critical component. Setting Blank to OFF is recommended for a critical component.

Component	Size	Blank	1	2
ZIP/PC	5	Yes	X	X
Last Name	5	Yes	X	X
Street #	4	Yes	X
Street Name	4	Yes	X
PO Box	10	Yes		X

As described above, this produces the following combinations:

• Condition #1: ZIP/PC, Last Name, Street Number, Street Name
• Condition #2: ZIP/PC, Last Name, PO Box

For this example, take the following records:

Name:	Joe Smith	Suzi Smith
Address:	326 Main Street	405 Main St
City/State/PC:	Pembroke, MA 02066	Pembroke, MA 02066

The following matchcode keys would be generated:

Cond#	Zip/PC	Last Name	Street #	Street Name	PO Box
1	02066	SMITH	326	MAIN
2	02066	SMITH	405	MAIN

According to these matchcode keys, it is clear that these two records do not satisfy condition #1. But because blank field matching is selected, they do satisfy condition #2. The Zip/PC, Last Name, and PO Box are exactly the same. Therefore, the two records do match.

Obviously, this is not the correct result. Making one change to the matchcode:

Component	Size	Blank	1	2
ZIP/PC	5	Yes	X	X
Last Name	5	Yes	X	X
Street #	4	Yes	X
Street Name	4	Yes	X
PO Box	10	No		X

The same comparison is done for combination #2, but the match is disallowed this time because the matchcode now indicates that missing (blank) information is not allowed to figure in the matching condition.

Looking at another example (using the same matchcode):

Name:	Joe Smith	Suzi Smith
Address:	PO Box 123	PO Box 456
City/State/PC:	Pembroke, MA 02066	Pembroke, MA 02066

This pairing produces the following matchcode keys:

Cond#	Zip/PC	Last Name	Street #	Street Name	PO Box
1	02066	SMITH			123
2	02066	SMITH			456

This record has the same problem as before, but this time combination #1 is the cause. An even better matchcode would be:

Component	Size	Blank	1	2
ZIP/PC	5	Yes	X	X
Last Name	5	Yes	X	X
Street #	4	No	X
Street Name	4	No		X
PO Box	10	No		X

This is one matchcode that works well. There is one more possible tweak, however: turn on Both Blank Fields for the Street # component. Occasionally, MatchUp Object may encounter records such as:

Name:	Joe Notarangello	Suzi Notarangello
Address:	Oceanfront Estates	Oceanfront Est.
City/State/PC:	Pembroke, MA 02066	Pembroke, MA 02066

This reflects a trend in up-scale neighborhoods, where neither street address has a Street # component, though it is very likely these records should match.

So this new, improved matchcode will account for these situations:

Component	Size	Blank	1	2
ZIP/PC	5	Yes	X	X
Last Name	5	Yes	X	X
Street #	4	Yes	X
Street Name	4	No	X
PO Box	10	No		X