Starter for ten required for a bit of code to match two separate data files

[The Sultan]

I am looking to develop a bit of code/algorhithim which can
compare/match two tables of data- essentially a tool to spot cross
matches between two different lists. Both tables contain the following
fields

Name
Address1
Address2
Address3
Address4
Address5
Postcode

The idea being that I can put two separate lists of companies through
the code and know which companies appear on both - albeit calculated to
a certain degree of probability
Simply linking the fields in a straightforward query does not work
becuase you have situations where spelling mistakes pop up,
abbreviations versus full word (ltd v limited) etc etc

At this stage I am looking for a suggestion to start me off

 

[Alex Dybenko]

Hi,
in this case you still can use a query, but have to use a function like
Soundex() to compare fields with spelling mistakes etc.

function you can find here:
http://www.freevbcode.com/ShowCode.Asp?ID=1136

--
Best regards,
___________
Alex Dybenko (MVP)
http://alexdyb.blogspot.com
http://www.PointLtd.com

 

[Keith Wilby]

I am looking to develop a bit of code/algorhithim which can
compare/match two tables of data- essentially a tool to spot cross
matches between two different lists. Both tables contain the following
fields

Name
Address1
Address2
Address3
Address4
Address5
Postcode

The idea being that I can put two separate lists of companies through
the code and know which companies appear on both - albeit calculated to
a certain degree of probability
Simply linking the fields in a straightforward query does not work
becuase you have situations where spelling mistakes pop up,
abbreviations versus full word (ltd v limited) etc etc

At this stage I am looking for a suggestion to start me off

Just off the top of my head, have you tried unioning the tables in a query
and then running a "find duplicates" query on the union? Never tried it but
it might work.

Keith.
www.keithwilby.com