Set up a Smart Recognition column
Merchaint can't guess which of your lists a column should resolve against, or what counts as a match. You tell it once, and every document after that follows the same rules.
- A walkthrough video, then the seven steps
- What to set "When nothing matches" to, and why the default is right
- The three Advanced settings in plain terms
- Why to clean your list before turning learning on
01 · Video
Feature walkthrough
02 · Why
Why do we have this?
Merchaint can't guess which of your lists a column should resolve against, or what counts as a match. You tell it once, and every document after that follows the same rules.
Why is it set up this way?
The settings are separated because they answer different questions: where to look, what to show, what to search on, and what to do when there's no answer. Getting the last one wrong is how a supplier list fills up with junk, which is why it defaults to the safe choice.
03 · Use cases
Look in your Suppliers module, show the supplier name, match on the column's own text.
Same form, set up on the line sub-field instead. Match on the item code.
If two suppliers use the same item code for different things, point Look in table at a linked table scoped to the parent supplier rather than the whole product list.
What should "When nothing matches" be?
| Setting | What happens | Use when |
|---|---|---|
| Don't add (closed) | Nothing new is created; it's flagged | Always, to begin with. This is the default. |
| Ask first | A person is asked before anything is added | Your list is nearly complete |
| Add automatically | A new row is created | Only once you trust the data completely |
04 · How
Add a Lookup column
- Open
More→Add Columnand give it a name. - Set
Data Typeto Lookup. - Set
Look in table— the list this column should resolve against. - Set
Show in the cell— which field on the matched row to display. Pick the name, not the id. - Set
Match on. Tick What's typed in this column at minimum. Nothing resolves until this is set. - Open
Advancedand check the three settings below. - Press
Save Changes.
Advanced, in plain terms
| Setting | Options | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| When nothing matches | Don't add / Ask first / Add automatically | Whether a missing supplier gets created |
| Learning new names | Open / Locked | Open remembers every confirmed spelling. Locked stops learning. |
| Show in cell as | Tag / Value | Layout only. Editing the text re-runs the lookup either way. |
Helping the AI
Help the AI decide takes free text, in your own words, for house rules. For example:
Ignore legal suffixes like Pte Ltd, Sdn Bhd or PT. Match on the trading name.
You can drop other fields into it as {field} tokens, so a rule can refer to what else is on the record.
05 · Expected result
The column is saved and appears on the record page. New documents resolve against your list; unsure ones are flagged for someone to confirm.
06 · Troubleshooting / notes
| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| The yellow "pick a target" warning won't go | It clears when Match on is set, not when the table is picked. |
| An amber triangle next to a field in Match on | There's no explanation on screen. Stick to What's typed in this column unless your Merchaint contact says otherwise. |
| Only one option under Show in the cell | The target module has only one usable field. |
| Everything is a no match | Check the target list actually has rows in it. |
07 · FAQ
Common questions
Yes — same form, on the line sub-field.
Two things at once: it's what gets searched, and it's what a confirmed answer is remembered by. Ticking more fields makes it stricter, not looser.
Layout only. Tag shows the original text with the resolved answer beside it; Value leads with the answer.
A built-in table about your own organisation rather than one of your modules.
Yes. Existing records keep what they resolved to.