Patent ID: 7987209

Claim:
A method of correcting a data field that is repeated in a plurality of records in a trade compliance system database that is managed by a database management program, without having to repetitively enter a correction in each instance of the data field, the method operating in a computer system having a processor and memory and comprising in the order recited: making an ad hoc query to select the plurality of records in which the data field is repeated in the trade compliance system database; making a copy of the plurality of records in which the data field is repeated in the trade compliance system database; placing the copy of the plurality of the records in an external file that is external to the trade compliance system database; modifying the copy of the records in the external file by making an identical correction in each repetition of the data field using software other than the database management program which permits free-form changes to be made to the plurality of records; and uploading the edited copy of the records from the external file back into the trade compliance system database, thereby updating the records while preserving existing data within the trade compliance system database that was contained within the repeated data field prior to the global edit.