Merge vs. overwrite

In certain parts of the Workspace Control Console, settings imported from a Building Block can either overwrite the existing contents of these nodes in the target site, or can be added to them as a merge. This applies to the following nodes:

• User Context > Directory Services
• Composition > User Settings
• Security

The Merge option:

• replaces existing settings in that node by settings in the Building Block that have the same GUID.
• adds settings from the Building Block to the target node if the target node contains no existing settings with the same GUID.

The Overwrite option removes the entire contents of the target node and replaces it with the contents of that node as defined in the Building Block.

Example

If your target node contains 10 settings, and you import a Building Block that contains 1 setting (with a GUID that is not matched in the target site):

• the import option Merge results in 11 settings in the target node, namely the 10 original settings plus the imported one.
• the import option Overwrite results in 1 setting in the target node, namely the imported one.

When importing a Building Block manually, the account SIDs can be added. Beware however that, when importing a Building Block "unattended", account names will be used.