Resolving Import Issues

To view the records within the import file that match existing Alma records: on the Resolve Import Issues page, select View records in the row actions list. The Handle Matching page opens. You can then determine whether you want to import these matching records.

On the Handle Matching page, you can filter the list of results by Handling Type, as follows:

• Manual – Manual handling for matches was configured during import profile configuration (see Configuring New Import Profiles)
• Multiple Matches Delete – The delete failed due to matching records
• Multiple Matches EOD – The EOD import failed due to matching records
• Multiple Matches Merge – The merge failed due to matching records
• Multiple Matches Overlay – The overlay failed due to matching records

The Handle Matching page displays the following columns in the Imported Records to Handle section:

• Row number
• Record ID
• Author
• Short Title
• Publisher
• Date
• Handling Type – The handling option for matches selected during import profile configuration (see Creating/Editing an Import Profile: General Profile Information).
• Action / View Matches

On the Handle Matching page, select the record ID link or View Matches in the row actions list for the record whose matches you want to handle.

• If there is only one record that matches, the Side-By-Side Matching page appears:
  
  Side By Side Matching Page
  The Side-By-Side Matching page displays the Imported Record Details on the left side of the page and the Matched Record on the right side of the page.
• If there is more than one record that matches, the Import Record Matches page appears. 
  The left panel of the page displays the Imported Record Details, and the right panel displays the Matched Records in your catalog.
  
  Import Record Matches Page
  In the Matched Records List section, select the record that you want to match with the new record.

To preview how the record would look following an import, select a record in the Matched Record List (if there was more than one match) and select Merge Preview. The Merge Preview page appears. Select Back to return to the previous page.

To edit the records within the import file that match existing Alma records, on the Resolve Import Issues page, select Edit in the row actions list. The  Handle Matching page opens. 

1. On the Handle Matching page, select the record ID link or View Matches in the row actions list for the record whose matches you want to handle. See Viewing Matching Import File Records for details. Additional actions appear on the Side-By-Side Matching page or Import Record Matches page.
   Select Approve Import on the Handle Matching page to approve the import without viewing the records. The record is imported, but it may be a duplicate of an existing record. For information on monitoring imports, see Monitor and View Import Jobs.
2. On the Side-By-Side Matching page or Import Record Matches page, select an action, as follows:
   • Import – Import the record, although there may be a duplicate with an existing record.
   • Do Not Import – Discard the new record.
   • Merge – Merge the records according to the options chosen in the profile configuration. The history of all linking performed for this record (for example, attached PO lines) is retained. For details on configuring import profiles, see Managing Import Profiles. Note that if this option cannot be performed, as in the case of importing records marked for deletion, it is unavailable.
   • Overlay – Discard all bibliographic data in the old record and replaces it with the data in the new record. Like merge, the history of all linking performed for this record is retained.
   • Delete – Delete the bibliographic when it has no inventory associated with it.
   • Use NZ Record (member institution implementing a Network Zone, only) – Discard the new record and instead use the record from the Network Zone.
   If the record is imported, details of the import can be viewed on the Monitor and View Imports page.

New records might fail to import when multiple matching duplicate records exist in the Alma database. To handle these records, you can configure the "Merge Records and Combine Inventory for Multi-Match" section in the import profile (see Creating/Editing an Import Profile: Match Profile). This allows you to merge records and combine inventory when importing records. 

When a file was produced using an import profile configured for "Merge Records and Combine Inventory for Multi-Match", then the action Merge Records and Combine Inventory is available for the file on the Resolve Import Issues page. If the import job that you ran was large and resulted in multiple files appearing on the Resolve Import Issues page, select the checkbox at the beginning of each row for these files and select Merge Records and Combine Inventory in the page actions list.

1. On the Resolve Import Issues page (Resources > Import > Resolve Import Issues), locate the file(s) containing the duplicate records that you want to resolve in order to import a new record.
2. Select Merge Records and Combine Inventory in the row actions list for the file, OR Select multiple files from the same import job and select Merge Records and Combine Inventory in the page actions list.
   The Merge Records and Combine Inventory page action works only with multiple files from the same import job.
   A confirmation message appears:
   
   Merge Records and Combine Inventory confirmation message
   The confirmation message displays the settings that you selected in the import profile (that generated this failed import file). You can Preview the changes in Excel format, Cancel your request, or Submit the job to resolve the issues.
3. Optionally, select Preview to preview the changes (in Excel format) that will be implemented once you click Submit.
   Each set of duplicate records is identified by a group number. For each group, the Operation column identifies the preferred record and the records to be merged with this preferred record. When the merge is complete, only one record will remain in the Alma database. This record will be merged with the new record that you are importing (unless you selected the Suppress or Keep it options in the import profile).
   
   Preview Multiple Matching Duplicate Record Changes
   There may also be some records identified as 'Ignore' in the Operation column. This may occur when the record was suppressed or if there was a lapse in time between running the original import job and working with the Resolved Import Issues page, and some records may no longer exist.
4. When you are ready to proceed, select Submit. The merge job runs. For more information, see Viewing Running Jobs and Viewing Scheduled Jobs.
5. To view the report details, select the link for Merge records and combine inventory report in the job reports. Similar to other multi-match reports, this report shows the preferred and secondary (merged) records. In the Message column, the message for the secondary (merged) record shows the number of physical items, portfolios, PO lines, and so forth, that were merged with the preferred record.
   
   Merge Records and Combine Inventory Report

You can view the records within the import file that match existing Alma records. You can then determine how you want to handle the records with validation errors.

1. On the Resolve Import Validation Errors page, select View records in the row actions list for the relevant import file. The Handle Import Validation Errors page appears.
   
   Handle Import Validation Errors Page
   The Handle Import Validation Errors page includes the following sections:
   • Details of the import job file. Note that Number of failed records includes the total number of failed records, including records whose issues were resolved.
   • Error List – The validation errors. Displays the following columns:
     • Error Message – The error that caused the validation to fail.
     • Number of Records – The number of records that have an error.
   • Records List – The record details with the following columns:
     • Record ID
     • Author
     • Short Title
     • Publisher
     • Date
     • Number of Errors
2. In the Records List area, select View Errors in the row actions list. The Imported Record Details page appears.
   
   Imported Record Details Page
   The left side of this page displays the record details in the following formats:
   • Original record format
   • MARC record format
   The right side of the page displays the error information. The Error List section on this page displays the same error information as displayed in the Error List section on the Handle Import Validation Errors page. Export the file, make any necessary corrections, and re-import the file.

The Edit option enables you to view the record details and validation errors and provides several options for managing the records/files with these errors.

1. On the Resolve Import Validation Errors page, select Edit in the row actions list for the relevant import file. The Handle Import Validation Errors page appears. See Viewing Import File Records With Validation Errors. Additional actions appear when you edit the page.
2. Select an action, as follows:
   • Do Not Import – Discard the records with validation errors while importing the valid records in the file.
   • Force Import – Import all the records including those with errors.
   • Reject File – Discard the file containing records with validation errors. The file is removed from the Handle Import Validation Errors page.
   • Create File – Save the record details to an external XML file in which you can edit the records. You can then re-import the file.
   • View Errors (row actions list)– See Viewing Import File Records With Validation Errors.