How ‘Consolidate’ finds identical clauses

'Consolidate' recognizes identical clauses and offers the option to merge them. This article explains how the platform identifies these clauses and the steps it takes to consolidate them.

Finding identical clauses

To find identical clauses in the spec, the platform will:

• Compare clauses with the same code.
  • Ignores the clause 'Prefix', 'Title' and 'Suffix' fields.
• 'Hash' of the clause body, including any clause links, clause placeholders, variables, manufacturer information, and text formatting.
• The platform lists the clauses with identical hashes on the 'Consolidate' tab.

Whenever a clause is edited and saved, the platform repeats the process above. This means the 'Consolidate' grid will show all identical clauses based on the last saved versions and update this information as specifiers edit clauses and save their changes.

How clauses are consolidated

A screenshot of the 'Consolidate' wizard showing clauses selected to consolidate.

• When you select two or more clauses to consolidate, the platform picks a target clause. This clause has the newest clause version and the most recent 'Last edited' date. 
  • The platform identifies if any of the clauses in the group are checked out or marked as complete. You cannot consolidate these clauses.
  • It detects if any clauses within the group have been copied from different masters or linked to different model objects. The platform permits consolidation only when all selected clauses share a single master origin and a single model association.
  • The clause row 'Last edited' from the target clause will be retained.
  • The clause 'Last edited' will be updated to show the consolidating user and the date and time of the consolidation.
• The platform combines the following items from the consolidation group into the target clause:
  • Clause links, clause placeholders 
  • Clause rows 
  • Manufacturer links 
  • Master links (the ‘Rosette’ icon) 
  • Model associations 
  • Org notes 
  • Spec notes 
  • Master notes
  • Tags
  • Variables 
• The platform deletes the remaining duplicates and transfers all the org and spec notes to the target clause.
• The platform records a ‘Spec note’ against the target clause, which says, ‘Consolidated with # other clauses.'