Metis 101: Project Merge

Once we have imported both Excel sheets it is time to merge data. From the menu select Metis Tools -> Data merge and Deduplication... The first stage of the merge process (Well Identification Criteria Selection) is designed to merge the well information together and assign samples to wells. In the Metis101.xls Excel file there is only one well recorded; named Welly. At the Well identification stage any number of well properties can be selected. These act as criteria which identify unique wells and then merge the associated well data.

In this simple example there is only one real choice, conduct a merge on Well Name.Well, as this is the only well property that is populated and present across both Excel sheets and therefore on all four imported data rows. Select the property Well Name.Well from the available properties on the left and move it to the right hand “Included Properties” list using the [>] buttons (Group and Multi-select options are available). Click the Identify Wells button once done.

In the second stage of merge (Well Identification) we are shown the proposed well merge. The left-hand side of the screen shows the list of well groups (uniquely identified wells along with the number of occurrences of the picked criteria in the project). In this example project there's just have one well name and so just see a single well group named Welly. With more complex files multiple well groups could be listed here depending on the well criteria chosen.

On the right-hand side of the screen is a detailed view of the selected Well group. Here we see “Welly” featured on four data rows, originating from two Excel sheets. At the top of the merge screen is the Merge result. Once you have finished checking the single well group and are satisfied click Confirm and continue to sample merge.

The last two merge stages are designed to merge sample information together, where data has been imported from different files and is now separated over multiple project data rows. Stage 3 of merge (Sample Merge Criteria Selection) is where the user selects any combination of properties in the system to merge the samples against. These should ideally be properties which have broad coverage across the project data, but when combined produce unique samples (e.g. Well Name.Well, Base MD.Sample, Name.Sample & Type.Sample or Well Name.Well, Base Lstrat(un).Geol, DST#.Sample). In the sample identification stage you are not restricted to just sample properties; well properties can also be used. To avoid merging samples across wells, with for example the same sample name or depth, we recommend including the well name (Well Name.Well) property in the sample merge criteria. Here, a number of properties and combinations could work to merge the data that was imported across two Excel sheets.

Finding properties in the system is flexible, either select an Analysis Group using the dropdown menu or type the Analysis Group name into the left-hand search box. As you begin to type, the analyses that match are listed. Alternatively, you can begin to search for Properties directly without first specifying an Analysis Group. For example, typing depth in the property search box will bring up all the properties with depth as part of their name. Use the Esc key at any time to clear present entries.

Sample name (Name.Sample) and base measured depth (Base MD.Sample) would both work individually or as a combination to identify unique project samples. We advise that users select as specific merge criteria as possible to begin with, these criteria can then be refined and altered if the desired results are not achieved. In this example, a combination of sample merge criteria you could select (place in the included properties list) would be Well Name.Well and Name.Sample before clicking Merge Samples and proceeding to the next screen:

The final merge stage, Sample Merge Confirmation, follows the same format as the Well Identification stage. The only addition here is each sample group has its data broken down into the corresponding Analysis Groups as shown above. On this screen you have created two sample groups split by the Well Name.Well & Name.Sample combination (shown in the Sample Group title). By selecting the different sample groups and associated analysis groups you can see all the sample data. Entering the Pyrol Analysis Group you will note the clear intended action to merge up the Pyolysis S1 and S2 data onto a single sample row, presented in the Merge Result row. No changes are necessary here, and so once you are finished reviewing the proposed merges select Confirm Sample Merges.

Once merge is complete open up the Well Sample Summary and Pyrolysis (RE2) page views. You should find that the four data rows have now been merged into two unique rows. Furthermore, not only have the S1.Pyrol and S2.Pyrol properties been merged onto unique sample rows but the result of this merge has caused both the PI.Pyrol and PP.Pyrol properties to be dynamically calculated. In Metis Transform and p:IGI+, calculated properties, derived by the system from the presence of appropriate raw data are highlighted with green text on a yellow background and are automatically calculated on any value changes; manually changing any of the S1 or S2 values on this page would thus update the corresponding derived value.

If data was manually imported or written to a calculated property it would appear as a normal number columns (black text on white background) and would not listen to data changes in the linked equation raw property values. Deleting a manual value would cause the property to be dynamically calculated.

If you make any manual data changes or are unsatisfied with the merge you can revert to the original values or undo the merge by using the Undo shortcut icon or pressing the Crtl+Z key shortcut. The opposite Redo action is achieved using the Redo shortcut icon or pressing the Crtl+Y key shortcut.

It is essential to conduct a project merge prior to uploading data to the Metis Staging area, as this process ensures the data is well identified and unique, given the choice of merge criteria. It will bring together analyses for the same samples stored in different data files, and help to ensure no duplicate data is contained in the project.

When you're finished reviewing the merged data continue to the Metis 101: Staging merge guide.