Merge types

As you define each data field in the workflow properties, you specify how the data in the field should be handled in the following circumstances:

The tables below describe the behavior for the different merge types.

For simple data types

Merge Type Description

Default

No change. The value of this field remains as it was set at the split.

Override

The values entered in the last step to be completed before the collector step override any previous values.

Add

Adds entries that are different from the value of the field at the split.

  • For string data, the strings are concatenated.
  • For integer or float data, the values are added.

TIP This field might be used in a step to accumulate values entered by each participant. In this case, the initial value of the field should be 0 (or 0.0) to ensure that all entries are added.

NOTE The system compares each entry with the original value of the field at the split. Any value that matches the original value is ignored.

See Merge examples for additional information about merging simple data types.

For arrays

Merge Type Description

Default

No change. The value of this field remains as it was set at the split.

Override

The values entered in the last step to be completed before the collector step override the complete array, even if only a single entry has changed.

Override entry

The values entered in the last step to be completed before the collector step override only the values that are changed.

Append

Appends entries that are different from the value of the array element at the split to the end of the original array.

Add

Adds entries that are different from the value of the array element at the split.

  • For string data, the strings are concatenated.
  • For integer or float data, the values are added.

AppendNoDup

Appends the modified entry at the end of the array if the entry in not already in the array.

See Merge integer array example and Merge string array example for additional information about merging arrays.