Maintenance — Duplicate Handling¶

PastPaths can find and merge records that were imported multiple times or registered as separate entries even though they refer to the same person, place, media file, or event. The feature is accessed via Administration → Maintenance or via dedicated buttons on the respective list pages.

The Maintenance page¶

The Administration → Maintenance page is a list with one row per area, in alphabetical order. Each row has a heading, a short description, and the buttons on the right. Hover over the row to read a longer description.

Row	Buttons
Events	Search duplicates
Export folder	Open export folder — opens the folder where reports, GEDCOM files, and backups are saved, see Backups
Media	Clean up media (orphaned files and missing thumbnails), see Clean up media, and Search duplicates
Persons	No connections, see Persons without connections, and Search duplicates
Places	Clean up unused (places without links) and Search duplicates
Relationships	Check relationships, see Relationships
Sources	Go to tab — see Sources, categories, and tags
Taxonomy	Go to tab — see Sources, categories, and tags

Overview¶

Each entity type has its own points-based system that weighs several signals together into a probability score (0–100). The score determines whether a pair is shown as a possible duplicate. You then manually choose which fields to keep, and the system handles all database links automatically.

Entity	Primary signal	Default threshold
Person	Phonetic name + date + place of birth	50
Place	Source text (GEDCOM PLAC) + coordinates	30
Media	SHA-256 hash	35
Event	Type + date + place	60

Sources, categories, and tags¶

Unlike persons, places, media, and events, tags, categories, and sources have no automatic scored detection. Tag and category names are already deduplicated technically (the same name can't be created twice), so "duplicates" here are in practice spelling variants or synonyms — Probate and Probate record, for example — which the system can't determine automatically.

Instead, you select what to merge yourself:

Go to Administration → Taxonomy (for tags/categories) or Administration → Sources
Check at least two rows in the table
The Merge selected button appears — click it
Choose which of the selected items to keep (default: the one with the most links)
Confirm

All links (persons, places, events, media, blog posts for tags/categories; citations for sources) are automatically moved to the kept record. For categories, any subcategories are moved to the kept category instead of being deleted.

The same shortcut is available on the Maintenance page: the Go to tab button on the Sources and Taxonomy rows takes you directly to the respective tab. Hover over the row for a short description of how merging works there.

Searching for duplicates¶

Automatic search¶

Open the search via Maintenance → Search duplicates or the button on the respective page (Persons, Places, Media, Events). Adjust the threshold with the slider and click Search. The system returns pairs sorted by score, with a color-coded confidence indicator:

Green (high) — strong match, likely the same record
Orange (medium) — possible duplicate, review manually
Gray (low) — weak signal, use your judgment

Under each pair, the score breakdown per signal is shown (e.g. "Exact name: 25/25," "Coordinates: 30/30") to help you understand why the pair was flagged.

Manual search¶

The Manual search tab lets you search freely and select any records for merging — regardless of how similar they are score-wise. Useful when you know two records are the same but the system hasn't found them automatically (e.g. a name typo that the phonetic matching doesn't catch).

Select at least two records and click Merge selected. With more than two, the merge dialog opens sequentially: you merge one pair at a time until all are done.

Open a record and go back¶

On the Automatic search and Ignored tabs, the names can be clicked. They open the person, place, media file, or event on its own page, so you can take a closer look before you decide. On Manual search, clicking the row selects the record for merging, so there you open the record with the arrow-out icon on the far right.

The back arrow leads to the same list again, with the same tab, threshold, and search. This applies whether you opened the list from Maintenance or from Persons, Places, Media, or Events.

The event duplicates show the persons linked to each event (up to four, more are shown as "+X more"), so it's easy to see whether two marriages concern the same couple.

The merge tab¶

When you click Review on a duplicate pair, the merge dialog opens.

Choosing a keeper¶

At the top, you choose which of the two records will be the keeper — the one that's kept. Click the name chips to switch. This choice affects the default setting for all fields below (the keeper's field is preselected).

Field selection¶

Each data field is shown as a row with the keeper's value on the left and the other record's value on the right. Click the side you want to select which value is kept.

Fields with an image (the person's profile photo, the media file's thumbnail) show the images side by side above the field rows, so you can compare visually before choosing which data to keep.

For text fields (description, notes/biography) and taxonomy (categories, tags), there's a third option:

Combine both — the texts are concatenated with a separator, or the taxonomy is merged as a union. This option is selected automatically when both records have content, to minimize data loss.

Family context and date warning (persons)¶

For persons, parents, siblings, and partners with children are shown under each person, at the same height for both so they can be compared row by row. Siblings and children are listed in order of birth. If the other person in the merge is part of the family themselves — for example as "partner" — this is pointed out.

If the persons have different dates of birth or death, a red warning is shown. It may be a typo, but it may also be two different persons with the same name. If they also share a parent, the warning says they're probably siblings: it was common for a later child to be given the name of a sibling who had died. You can still merge them, but the confirmation reminds you of the warning.

The confirmation dialog¶

Before the merge is carried out, a summary is shown:

Which record will be deleted and which will be kept
How many links will be moved (relationships, events, citations, etc.)
A warning if any text field or taxonomy field will be discarded (i.e. you chose only one side's data)

The merge cannot be undone. Check that you've chosen the right keeper before confirming.

What happens in the background¶

Upon confirmation:

Selected field values are written to the keeper
All foreign-key links are updated (see table below)
Taxonomy (categories and tags) is merged according to your choice
Any "Not duplicates" markings for the removed record are cleared
The removed record is permanently deleted from the database

Entity	Links that are moved
Person	Relationships, event links, media, citations, bookmarks, research notes
Place	Birthplace references, place-of-death references, events, media, citations, bookmarks, research notes
Media	Person links, place links, event links, citations
Event	Person roles, media links, citations, bookmarks, research notes

If both records are bookmarked, you get one bookmark, and both notes are kept.

Media files on disk

When merging media records, the database row for the removed record is deleted, but the physical file is left on disk as an orphan. This is a deliberate choice to avoid data loss. Orphan files can be cleaned up manually if needed, via the Clean up media button on the Media row under Maintenance. → Clean up media

Not duplicates¶

If the system suggests a pair that you know aren't duplicates, click Not duplicates. The pair is hidden from future searches, and an Undo button is shown for 5 seconds if you change your mind right away.

The marking is stored in the database and applies until you undo it — either right away via the Undo button, or later via the Ignored tab in the same dialog (next to Automatic search and Manual search). It lists every pair you've marked "not duplicates" for that entity type, with an Undo button on each row, so you're not limited to the 5-second window if you change your mind afterward.

Clean up media¶

Open via the Clean up media button on the Media row under Maintenance. The dialog has two tabs.

Orphaned files¶

Files that are still in the media folder but that no media record points to anymore — for example after merging media records or an interrupted import.

Click Search. The scan goes through the entire media folder.
The files are listed with a preview, file size, and last modified date.
Check the files you want to delete and confirm.

Deleting files is permanent

The files are removed from disk and can't be recovered. If you're unsure — make a backup first.

Missing thumbnails¶

Images that have no generated thumbnail. This is most common for media imported via GEDCOM or WordPress in older versions of PastPaths. Without a thumbnail, a generic icon is shown in places such as the duplicate and merge views.

Open the Missing thumbnails tab.
Click Generate thumbnails.

The original images aren't affected — only the missing thumbnails are created.

Persons without connections¶

Open via the No connections button on the Persons row under Maintenance. Finds persons with no family relationships at all — regardless of whether they have events, source citations, or known birth/death dates. Common after large GEDCOM imports where individual records lose their connections.

Click Search to list them. Per row, you can:

click the name — opens the person page. The back arrow leads here again, and the list is searched anew.
Edit (the pencil) — opens the person's edit dialog directly, e.g. to write a note about why the connection is missing
Ignore — marks the person as reviewed, hidden from future searches
Tag "Missing relations" — same principle as the import tag, for deliberate categorization
Delete

The list doesn't refresh automatically after an action — press Search again if you want an updated list.

Relationships¶

Partner and sibling relationships are stored in both directions — one row for "Anna is married to Erik" and one for "Erik is married to Anna". They should have the same details, but older versions of PastPaths could make them differ: a change to a relationship was saved in only one direction, and import from TNG set relationship types the program doesn't recognize (fixed in the import in 1.10.X).

The check also looks at the partner relationships' events, at the parent relationships, and at relationships that exist more than once.

Open via Maintenance → Relationships → Check relationships and click Check. The result is split into three groups with headings of their own. Only sections with something in them are shown.

Partner and sibling relationships

Different details in the two directions — which fields differ: subtype, dates, date precision, or note
Missing opposite direction — only one direction exists
Invalid subtype — with what it will be changed to, or a prompt to fix it manually
Exact copies of partner and sibling relationships — the same relationship with the same details several times, usually after the same family was imported twice
Several different relationships between the same people — for example both married and siblings, or married twice with different dates

Partner relationships and events

Married without a marriage
Dates that differ from the event
Events not linked to the couple's relationship

Parent relationships

Exact copies of parent relationships
Children with more than one possible parent — more than one biological mother or father, more than two biological parents, or the same parent with different details

The persons are shown with their years and places of birth and death, and the partner relationships with the form and how the relationship ended, for example "Partner (married, divorce) 1845–1850". Click a name to open the person — the back arrow leads to the check again.

Nothing is changed unless you choose it: every group or section that can be fixed has a button of its own, and the button first shows a confirmation that says what will change.

Fix automatically (partners and siblings)¶

The Fix automatically button is at the heading for partner and sibling relationships and only applies to that group. It first shows a confirmation and then does the following:

Differing details are taken from the direction that was changed most recently.
Notes that differ are combined under the heading "Från relationens andra riktning" (From the relationship's other direction), so no text is lost.
A missing opposite direction is created as a copy of the one that exists.
Known invalid subtypes are replaced with valid ones (divorced → Married with the end reason divorce, common-law → Cohabiting). Subtypes the program doesn't recognize are left unchanged — open the person and choose a form for the relationship.
Exact copies are removed so that one remains in each direction. Source citations are moved to the one that remains and notes are combined.

What remains is shown after the fix.

Partner relationships and events¶

The marriage, the engagement, and the other events own the date and place, and the relationship shows the event's date. → The relationship and the events These sections find what doesn't fit together, usually in data from before the link existed.

Married without a marriage. The couple is married but has no marriage event. Create marriage on the row creates a marriage with both as primary persons and the relationship's start date, or no date. Create marriage for all does it for the whole list, after a confirmation. The form, the end reason, and the end date aren't changed, and no other event is created. If the form is wrong, open the person and change the relationship.

Dates that differ from the event. The relationship's start or end date doesn't match the linked event. The row shows both dates and what the fix does. Fix dates writes the event's date to the relationship. If the event has no date, it gets the relationship's date instead, so no date is lost.

Events not linked to the couple's relationship. A marriage, divorce, engagement, banns, moving in together, or separation with the couple as primary persons that isn't linked to any relationship. The row says what happens if the event is linked:

Linked to the relationship or Linked, and the relationship gets the end reason … (blue) — Link events links them. The start or end date follows the event. Engagement, moving in together, and banns that don't start the relationship are linked as history and change no dates.
Not linked (orange) — the event would change the relationship's form, for example a marriage for a cohabiting couple, or the couple has no relationship the event fits. These are never changed from here. Open the person and change the relationship if it's correct.

Once the events are linked, they're also shown in the relationship dialog, and the checkboxes for deleting them together with the relationship work.

Several different relationships between the same people¶

Nothing here is changed automatically, since it may be correct — two persons may have married each other twice. Open the person and remove the relationship that is wrong.

If the relationships are correct, click Checked. The pair is then not shown in the group again until a relationship between them is added, changed, or removed. Checked pairs are collected in the collapsed Checked pairs list, where you can undo the mark.

Exact copies of parent relationships¶

Remove copies in the section removes the copies so that one remains, after a confirmation. Source citations are moved to the one that remains and notes are combined. Children with more than one possible parent aren't changed.

Children with more than one possible parent¶

Nothing is changed automatically here either — all relationships are kept until you remove the wrong one yourself. Each child is shown with all of their parents, the parents' subtype (biological, adoptive, etc.), and years and places of birth and death, so you see the whole family at once.

Tag all puts the tag -Check parents on the children, so they're easy to find again. Tagged children are marked Tagged in the list.
If two fathers or two mothers are actually the same person — common after an import — check them and click Merge selected. The merge dialog opens one pair at a time, with the parent who has the most details preselected to be kept. You can select both fathers and mothers at once. When you're done, the check runs again.

The checkbox is only shown when the child has more than one parent of the same kind.

The best overview when merging families

For parents who exist twice, this is often a better place to merge than the duplicate list: you see the child, all parents, and their details at the same time. → Guide: Clean up after an import

Scoring system per entity¶

Person¶

Signal	Points
Name: first name	up to 15
Name: last name	up to 25
Date of birth: same day	25
Date of birth: same year and month	20–22
Date of birth: same year	15–22
Date of birth: one year apart	8–10
Date of death: same day	15
Date of death: same year and month	13
Date of death: same year	10–13
Date of death: one year apart	5–6
Birthplace: same place	20
Birthplace: coordinates < 500 m	16
Birthplace: similar place name	up to 12
Birthplace: parish + country matches	8
Shared biological parent	+10
Gender conflict (both set, different genders)	−30

Names are compared both on spelling and phonetically (Carlsson/Karlsson, Wahlström/Vahlström, etc.). Nicknames and alternate names count too: a nickname or alternate name of one person is compared with the other's main name, and the best comparison applies. Two alternate names are never compared with each other. Alternate names of the type Name prefix or Name suffix, for example "Sr.", aren't counted, and the name's type is removed before the comparison.

Dates are compared at the precision both have. If one has only a year and the other a full date, it's enough for the years to match — hence the ranges in the table. Different dates give a warning when merging but don't remove the pair from the list.

Parents: only biological parents count. If both have known mothers with none in common, known fathers with none in common, or entirely different parents, the pair isn't shown at all — they're probably half-siblings or cousins with the same name.

The score is at most 100. Default threshold: 50. Recommended range: 40–80.

Place¶

Signal	Points
Source text (GEDCOM PLAC string) exact match	50
Coordinates < 100 m	30
Exact name match	25
Normalized name matches (slug)	20
Parish + country matches	15
Similar name (fuzzy)	up to 15

Default threshold: 30. A lower threshold catches more possible pairs — useful for large GEDCOM imports.

Source text on manually entered places

The source text is the strongest signal (50 points). Previously only imported places had one — places you typed in by hand had none at all, and so could never match an imported place on that signal. PastPaths now works out the source text itself when you save a place in the form, so manual and imported places are compared on equal terms.

Media¶

Signal	Points
Identical file (SHA-256 hash)	80
Same file size	10
Similar filename	up to 20
Same media type	5

Hash calculation

The SHA-256 hash is calculated the first time a duplicate search runs and is saved to the database. Searching a large media collection may take a few minutes the first time. Subsequent searches are fast.

Missing thumbnails

Media imported via GEDCOM or WordPress could previously lack a generated thumbnail, which caused the duplicate and merge views to show a generic icon instead of the image (the media library itself always showed the original image correctly). New imports now generate thumbnails automatically. For already-imported media without a thumbnail: go to Maintenance → Clean up media → Missing thumbnails and click Generate thumbnails.

Default threshold: 35. A hash match (80 pts) is always "high" confidence.

Event¶

Searches all event types except birth and death — they're handled automatically when merging persons. New event types are included automatically.

Signal	Points
Same type + date + place	80
Same type + date (no place)	40
Same type + place (no date)	25
2 or more shared participants	+15
1 shared participant	+5
Identical source string	+20
Shared source citations	+15

Default threshold: 60. Raise to 80 if you only want near-certain matches.

Sequential merging¶

During a manual search, you can select more than two records. The dialog then opens for the first two, and once you've confirmed that merge, the next pair opens automatically (the keeper from the previous step against the next record in the queue). You can cancel the sequence at any time with Cancel in the dialog.

Event type during sequential merge

For events, the system checks that all records in the queue have the same event type. If a record in the queue has a different type, it's automatically skipped with a message.

Tips¶

Start with a low threshold, raise it gradually. Run a search at threshold 30 for places to see the volume. Then raise it if the list is overwhelming.
Taxonomy defaults to "Combine both." If you want to remove duplicated import tags (e.g. -tng-import-2025-01-01 on both), choose "Keep keeper" instead.
The Maintenance page aggregates all entities but is just a shortcut to the same dialogs found on the respective list pages. The results are identical.