The Window Key Generator lets you create window keys that are used to match rows in the Relationship Linker and Reference Matcher. The Relationship Linker or Reference Matcher tries to match rows in the same window key set so that it does not need to compare every row in the data to every other row.
A window key is constructed from elements of input attributes, such as the first character of a business name and the first five characters from a postal code attribute. To generate a window key, you must first create a Window Key Rule that defines which part of each element to include in the key. You can use one or more keys to filter selected rows for comparison. See Creating Window Key Rules.
Because a window key is used to make a match window, its contents must serve as a matching clue. An example of a typical window key is the first character of a business name and the first five characters from a postal code attribute. To generate a window key, you must create a Window Key Rule that defines which part of each element to include in the key. The default window key rules are provided with your country project templates. You can use one or more keys to filter selected rows for comparison.
Example
For example, Window_Key_01 for the US project is set to generate the window key as follows:
- Rule 1: Use the first three character of postal code.
- Rule 2: Append to this the first character of the business name.
- Rule 3: Append to this the first character and subsequent consonant of the street name.
- Rule 4: Append to this a `1' if this is a personal name and a `2' if this is a business name.
Input:
|
Row 1: |
Center Hospital 25 Brattle Ln Arlington MA 02476 |
|
Row 2: |
Chemist Associates 12 Brantwood Rd Arlington MA 02476 |
Output:
|
Row 1: |
024CBR2 |
|
Row 2: |
024CBR2 |
In this example, the same window key is generated for both rows, bringing them into the same match window for comparison purposes. Subsequent matching rules will indicate whether these rows actually match or do not match.
Click any of the following topics to learn more about how to set up and run the Window Key Generator process: