Address, Postcode and Bank solutions
SPECIFYING OUTPUT
The Output tab (shortcut key [Alt]+3) is used to specify how Refiner writes back address data to your database. For databases where there is a separate field for each address element, simply drag the field name from the list on the right ('Postcode Plus Fields') to the appropriate yellow box on the left. Refiner is very flexible and supports writing back to address databases in highly complex or unusual formats.
From the list beneath 'Postcode Plus Fields' caption (right of screen), choose and map Postcode Plus fields to your database. Click the left mouse button down on a field and drag it over to the yellow box corresponding to the field you wish to map to... then release the mouse button. Use the scroll bar to move up and down the 'Postcode Plus Fields' list to find further fields for mapping.
More than one 'Postcode Plus' field can be mapped to the same (yellow) destination field in your database. For example, if there is no output field for locality, then the locality will need to be dragged to either the street or town field of your database. This is called concatenation. By default, Refiner will separate concatenated fields with a comma and place them in logical order. To change this order or the field concatenator, double click the relevant yellow box - see Changing Field Options below for more details.
Please note that for a complete mailing address all fields from Organisation through to Postcode (county is optional) must be mapped back to your database.
Delivery Point Suffix (DPS). A DPS code is only available for a letterbox level address and not for a street level address. So, where DPS Codes are mapped from the 'Postcode Plus Fields' list to a database, Refiner will map back a default DPS of 9Z for addresses which can only be matched to street level. This will help reach maximum Mailsort discount. To switch on /off the writing back of a default DPS toggle the 'Write back Default DPS' item on the Options menu.
Selecting the 'Special' radio button (beneath 'Postcode Plus Fields' caption) will change the list to display raw PAF fields. This enables, for example, building number to be separated from street name and the outcode / incode portions of the Postcode to be separated. (the part before and after the space respectively) . You can mix special and normal fields in your mappings. See Special Fields below for more details.
Only map back Name fields (Name, Title, First Name, Middle Name and Surname) if you have selected them as Input fields for processing these (such as splitting a name into it's constituent parts). Name data is not included as part of the Refiner. So, if name fields exist on your database and have not been mapped to 'In-use' - then mapping Postcode Plus Fields to your name fields on the Output tab will overwrite them with blank data.
Where a name field/s are transferred to the 'In-use' list Refiner can be set to split or combine fields. Simply map from the Postcode Plus Fields list to the appropriate output field/s (using drag and drop)
Standard Fields take care of the many anomalies and inconsistencies of raw PAF data. We recommend that you use these fields for mapping wherever possible.
Selecting 'Special' from the drop down list underneath the 'Postcode Plus Fields' caption will change the list of fields to show standard PAF (unformatted) address fields as well as separate Outcode and Incode fields. Select 'Standard' from the drop down list to switch back to the standard fields and map different fields from each list.
The fields provided in this list are as follows:
Department
Organisation Name
Sub Building
Building
Number
Dependant Thoroughfare
Thoroughfare
Dbl-Dep Locality
Dependant Locality
Abbrv. Postal County
Optional County
Abbrv. Optional County
Traditional County
Administrative County
Outcode
Incode
Barcode
<Transparent>
<Blank>When using Special Fields map all or none of the fields from Building Number through to Dependant Locality and do not mix and match with the Property, Street and Locality fields from the 'Standard' list. To mix these fields will cause some addresses to be trashed. This is because the standard fields not only concatenate many numbers with the street but also sometimes move the property or concatenate to the locality field as appropriate according to the PAF formatting rules.
Address elements not provided on the Special Fields list are excluded because they are identical to those on the Standard Fields list, e.g. the Town field is never reformatted. If you need to map the building number separately but only have a single property field you can drag both the sub building and building fields to the same field in your database and they will be concatenated together as appropriate.
You should note that the Organisation field in this list is different to that on the Standard fields list. In the standard fields list Organisation appears concatenated with the Department (when present), here the Organisation field is separated out from the Department. Similarly the Street field on the standard list is concatenated with the dependant street (where present), here they are separated.
For example, if your database has standard address fields from Organisation through to Postcode, but has a separate Number field you would make the following mappings:
Database Field Field Type Field Name to Map Organisation Standard Organisation Property Special Sub Building, Building Number Special Building Number Street Special Dependant Thoroughfare, Thoroughfare Locality Special Dbl-Dep. Locality, Dependant Locality Town Standard Town Postcode Standard Postcode Note: You concatenate fields together, e.g. 'Dependant Thoroughfare' and 'Thoroughfare' together as above by dragging the first field (Dependant Throughfare) and then dragging the next one (Throughfare) to the same field.
The <Transparent> field does not affect what is written back to your database. It is simply used if you wish to view a field unaltered in the suggested record when carrying out any manual cleaning through Refiner. As with any field with nothing mapped Refiner will not alter or write back any field that <Transparent> is mapped too. You only need to map this field if you specifically need to view non-address fields to assist with manual cleaning.
For DX customers, the DX Enabled version of Refiner includes a DX Field Output group. You can use this to write out DX data to your database. By mapping out the DX Number and DX Exchange you will have these supplied wherever they can be successfully matched. Existing DX data in your database will be retained, but the DX Status field will help in examining those that are or may be incorrect. See the DX Status Codes section for details of what each value of the DX Status field means.
To remove all field mappings from a field in your database simply drag those fields back to the field list box. You can also move mappings from one field to another by dragging them between fields.
To remove a field mapped to one in your database, to rearrange the order, or to change the field concatenator, simply double click the yellow box containing the field mapping to display the following dialog:
To remove a Postcode Plus field simply select it in the list and click the 'Remove' button. To re-arrange the order in which more than one Postcode Plus field is written back to your single database field, use the Up and Down arrows above and below the 'Remove' button. The 'Field Separator' option to the right can be used to select how fields are concatenated together when written back to a single field in your database. The option is not needed and not available for use to pre-cede the first of the concatenated fields. Refiner will only use the Field Separator where there is data to separate. The 'Use for all' option applies the chosen Field Separator to all fields in the list. To specify the different Separators for individual fields - uncheck 'Use for all'
We strongly recommend that your database is structured with fields for a minimum of each of the following address elements: Organisation, Property, Street, Locality, Town, County, Postcode and that these fields are used consistently. (obviously you may want to add others such as Department or DPS code etc).
However, sometimes an adequate number of fields are not available and / or these are restricted in length. In these cases it's useful to use 'line squeeze' Line Squeeze means for example, that if no locality data exists in an address record Town would be moved up to occupy the blank locality field and County would be moved up to occupy the blank town field. Refiner allows you to "line squeeze" fields in your database and to select which fields to "line squeeze".
To Line Squeeze fields together simply click the check box that follows that field name. You will see the fields join as you check more than one consecutive field. It is not possible to line squeeze non-consecutive fields.
| Refiner | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
| Manual Contents | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| Appendix | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
|
