# Orphan indicators

The Enhanced Build Process always load Orphan Records. This is done so that Delta updates can be applied; as records can be re-parented by the Delta process then all the records must exist in the system so that this can happen.

> [!NOTE]
>
> From the 2021 Q4 release of FastStats Designer it is possible to auto-generate an **Orphan Indicator** variable. This is a Selector variable populated based on whether the record matches to a parent record or not.

The orphan indicator variable can then be used at query time to determine if a record is an orphan, or it can be used to define row filters to exclude orphaned records. A single orphan indicator can be defined on every transaction table (not the master or on lookup tables.

## Add an orphan indicator

To add an orphan indicator:

1. Ensure that the Enhanced Build Process is being used.
2. Navigate to a transaction table in the Define Variables section of FastStats Designer.
3. Right-click in the Define Variables workspace and choose **Add Orphan Indicator**:
4. This will add a Selector containing 2 codes **Unmatched** and **Matched**:
5. To remove an orphan indicator variable - right-click and choose **Remove Orphan Indicator**.