Merging software items

Some software items may represent different versions of the same software. Having duplicate records for the same entity is not always convenient or acceptable (e.g. you can only link a license to a single software item, whereas in reality, it could cover all versions of this software). In most cases, a publisher will fill the software info in such a way that a single item can be recognized with different versions in different installations. Merging is a tool designed to deal with other situations.

Select all versions of the software in the main list. Use search and filters to find them faster. To make a multiple selection, drag your mouse or use Shift-clicking and Ctrl-clicking. Then call the context menu and select the Merge selected software option.

To initially merge versions that should continue to be considered as one software element (for example, subject to one license), you can use the automatic merge mechanism in the group editor.
To do this, select the Edit software properties option of the context menu for the software that you want to combine into a group in the main list, or open the editor by double-clicking on the required software, then check the box “Automatically add other versions of selected software” and click “Save”. The program will automatically detect suitable software and offer it for merging.

After confirming the merging of the group with the “Automatically add other versions of selected software” setting active, new suitable software will be automatically merged into a group, about which it is possible to receive notifications in the Application Events log by activating the corresponding option in the program Settings in the Logs section.

If several copies of the same software item are installed on a device, selecting the “As one copy per computer” option will allow TNI to count the software element as one for licensing purposes. The option should be used if the software and its add-ons are combined into one group, and also if the software has several installations for each user separately.

If necessary, enter the title and select the publisher from the drop-down list, check the list of versions again, tick the safety checkbox and click the Merge button. This is what a merged software looks like in the main list:

Attention!

This feature is NOT a replacement for groups. Do not merge software by kind, by purpose, by publisher, etc. You can use tags in these cases. Only use merging for combining different versions of the same software into a single item.

Merging software elements related to different operating systems is not available. The OS hint for the selected application can be an icon on the details panel.

You can later add new items to the merged software in the same way, by selecting items in the main window and then clicking Merge selected Software from the context menu.

To remove an item, switch to the Merged tab and click the  icon next to the item you want to remove.

Click Unmerge  to break up the merger.

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