KeyACCIDENT Data: Will legacy fields be lost if a record is overwritten?

Issue

KeyACCIDENT 2025 allows users to keep some fields from the STATS19 “2011 format” data that are discontinued in the 2024 format.

Will any of the legacy fields retained at migration be lost if a record is updated by an import?

 

Solution

There is no need for data to be lost at import.

The import default “update” settings are designed to protect any field in your existing data that is not present, or is present but blank, in your import file.

The crucial settings here are the “omitted” and “blank” boxes. These are ticked as default when the update option is selected. What will happen at import, for example, when the three boxes above are ticked?

  • If an update is received in the 2024 format, it won't contain any of the legacy fields so none of those will be overwritten in your data, i.e. the legacy fields are “omitted” in the import file and all your legacy fields are unchanged.
  • Hypothetically, if a 2011 update is imported with an update for your legacy fields, the custom legacy values would be overwritten with the new values. Any 2011 values are migrated dynamically at import to the same settings as your initial migration. Other legacy fields will remain untouched if the import has corresponding fields that are omitted or blank.
  • If a 2011 update were received but the retained fields are omitted or blank, the existing value would not be overwritten - this is why there are codes of 0 or 00 to represent, for example, “none” or “not applicable” in the STATS19 data set.

Hover over the information tooltip icons for more details.

 

Can any populated fields be overwritten with a blank?

Yes, this is possible if the default update settings are changed. We have designed the import so that omitted fields and blanks don't remove existing data, unless update settings are selected that allow existing data to be removed by omitted or blank fields, as below:

The unticked “omitted” or “blank” boxes will allow fields containing data in existing records to be overwritten as blank or null if they are not contained in corresponding records in the import file. Setting any fields as “protected” would prevent the selected fields from being overwritten in any circumstance.