A Merged data group combines all of the rows from each of the specified data groups into a single table of data, which may then be used like any other data group.

For example, if you have different time based information about a client such as calls, activities, orders, deliveries and so on, you can create a single chronology from these even if the data is in different data sources.

Drag and drop data groups from the Exclude box into the Merged box to include in the merge. Only data groups with the same parent as the merged data group may be included.

All fields from all specified data groups will be available so it’s worth considering the way in which you construct the data groups. If at all possible, use common field names across all specified data groups so that these are available in the merged data group automatically.

If you can’t do this, use data items in the merged data groups to create common fields by referencing fields in each specified data group. The “mergedFrom” field is automatically provided to help with this:

=CASE(=VALUE(mergedFrom,mergedDG),=VALUE(ActionDate,mergedDG),Orders,=VALUE(OrderDate,Orders),Invoices,=VALUE(InvoiceDate,invoices))

In this function the required field is taken from the ActionDate field in the mergedDG data group unless the row was merged from either the Orders or Invoices data groups when the OrderDate and InvoiceDate fields are used respectively.

This technique can lead to quite complex functions, so always try to create common field names where possible.