Unique
Overview
The Unique tool groups records by one or more fields, and separates the first record of each group from the remaining members of the group. The first records are sent to the Unique (U) output, and the remaining records are sent to the Duplicate (D) output. The Unique tool can be used:
As a component of merge/purge or householding processes (see Merge/purging a set of mailing list).
To select a representative record for an entire group of records.
If the input is already sorted on the group fields, the Unique tool preserves the existing record order and selects the first record of each group in the order it is read from the input. If the input is not sorted, Unique will sort the input based on the group fields, and select the first record from that ordering. However, the order of records within each group is arbitrary.
If you do not specify a unique key, the Unique tool operates as if there is a single empty key, sending the first record to the U output and all others to the D output.
Unique tool configuration parameters
The Unique tool has one set of configuration parameters in addition to the standard execution options.
Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
Field | Name of the input field. |
Order | Sort order, either Ascending or Descending. This is required and defaults to Ascending. |
Configure the Unique tool
Select the Unique tool, and then go to the Configuration tab on the Properties pane.
Use the Field list to specify one or more fields that determine uniqueness, and specify the Order in which each Field is sorted
OR
Select Unique all to specify all fields, and then select Ascending or Descending to assign the selected order to all fields.Optionally, go to the Execution tab, and then set Web service options.
The Unique tool will sort the input on the unique fields. Be sure you have enough temporary disk space to hold the sorted table.