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List of output selectors

Output selectors are functions that allow a single value to be derived for a field in a merged record, based on the data in the records being merged.

The following Output selectors are provided in OEDQ. It is also possible to add new output selectors - see Extending matching in OEDQ.

Click on the selector for more information about its usage.

Output Selector	Compatible Input Column Type	Description	Example output selection
Average	Number	Calculates the average of the input values for a Number attribute	Inputs: 1,5,8,10 Output: 6
Delimited List	String	Outputs all input values, or all distinct input values, in a delimited list.	Inputs: lewistaylor@yahoo.com, lewist@hotmail.com, lewis@abco.com Output: lewistaylor@yahoo.com, lewist@hotmail.com, lewis@abco.com
Earliest Value	String, Number or Date	Uses a date attribute to select the merged value of a different attribute. The record containing the earliest value in the specified date field is chosen, and the output value for the other attribute is extracted from the selected record.	Inputs: Johnson ( 01/05/2001), Johnston (06/01/1998) Output: Johnston
First Non-empty Value	String, Number or Date	Selects the first non-empty value it finds from the input attributes, in order.	Inputs: null, Smith Output: Smith Inputs: Smith, Smyth Output: Smith
Highest Value	String, Number or Date	Selects the highest number, for number attributes, the latest date, for date attributes, or the last alphabetic value, for string attributes.	Inputs: 9, 12, 14 Output: 14
Latest Value	Number or Date	Uses a date attribute to select the merged value of a different attribute. The record containing the latest value in the specified date field is chosen, and the output value for the other attribute is extracted from the selected record.	Inputs: Johnson (01/05/2001), Johnston (06/01/1998) Output: Johnson
Longest String	String	Selects the longest string value (the string value with the most characters)	Inputs: J, James, Jameson Output: Jameson
Lowest Value	String, Number or Date	Selects the lowest number, for number attributes, the earliest date, for date attributes, or the first alphabetic value, for string attributes.	Inputs: 8.2, 8.1, 7.6 Output: 7.6
Most Common Value	String, Number or Date	Selects the most common value from the input attribute(s),from all the input records.	Inputs: Davis, Davis, Davies Output: Davis
Standard Deviation	Number	Calculates the standard deviation of the input values for a Number attribute	Inputs: 1, 5, 8, 10, 12 Output: 3.87
Sum Values	Number	Adds together the numeric values from all the input records.	Inputs: 3,7,8,-2 Output: 16
Value from Highest	String, Number or Date	Uses a number attribute to select the merged value of a different attribute. The record containing the largest value in the specified number field is chosen, and the output value for the other attribute is extracted from the selected record.	Inputs: Johnston (50), Johnson (40), JOHNSON (35) Output: Johnston
Value from Lowest	String, Number or Date	Uses a number attribute to select the merged value of a different attribute. The record containing the smallest value in the specified number field is chosen, and the output value for the other attribute is extracted from the selected record.	Inputs: Johnston (50), Johnson (40), JOHNSON (35) Output: JOHNSON