General
With the Show and Merge Duplicates tool, users can identify and group duplicate records in the Contacts and Accounts modules based on selected fields. The tool is used in situations where the registry is suspected to contain duplicates that need to be reviewed and, if necessary, merged into a single record.
This feature enables mass detection of duplicates without the need to search for them using the report generator. The user can choose which fields to use for detecting duplicates (e.g., email, phone number, company information), and the system automatically groups matching records.
Searching for duplicates does not make any changes to the data. When the user selects the Merge into this action from a duplicate group, a separate Merge Entity module tool opens to perform the actual merging. Therefore, it is important to review the instructions for the Merge Entity module tool carefully before merging duplicates.
Start
The Show and Merge Duplicates button (Show Duplicates) is visible in the Contacts and Accounts list view when:
- The user has permission to access the list view in the Contacts or Accounts module
- The user has permissions for the merge tool
- The filter does not include a Join to module condition
If the filter includes a join to another module, the button is visible but disabled.
The Show Duplicates button is located to the left of the Excel export option. Selecting the button opens a dialog where the user defines the fields used for duplicate detection.
Field Selection
In the dialog opened by the Show Duplicates button, the user selects which fields will be used to detect duplicates.
The selection supports the following field types:
- Text fields (string)
- Single picklists
- Account relationship fields
If a field is empty, it is considered to have no comparable data. Empty fields are also ignored so that they do not form duplicate groups.
The user can select one or multiple fields. The more fields selected, the more precise the groups will be.
Example
The user selects First Name and Last Name for duplicate detection and gets a group of four records, each with the contact name Edward Example. Two of these contacts have no email address.
The user refines the search and selects First Name, Last Name, and Email Address. Now only two Edward Example contacts with the same email address are shown, as the system ignored records where the email field was empty.
Duplicate Groups
The system groups records based on common values in the selected fields.
For each group, the following is displayed:
- The field value forming the group
- The number of entities in the group
- A list of entities
- Merge into this button
This view does not yet make any changes to the database, and the user can review the groups before starting the merge process.
Merging
When the user selects the desired record from a group using the Merge into this action, the actual Merge Entity module tool opens.
If the Merge Entity module tool is unfamiliar, it is important to review its instructions in the Merge Entity Module tool guide.
Update and Completion
Once the merge is completed in the Merge Entity tool and the user returns to the duplicate view:
- Duplicate groups are automatically updated
- If no duplicates are found with the same criteria, a message is displayed: “No duplicates found.”
The dialog can then be closed, or the user can search for duplicates again using new field selections.
Notes
- Show and Merge Duplicates does not make any changes until the merge process is initiated in the Merge Entity tool.
- Restrictions and instructions for the actual merging process can be found in the Merge Entity Module Tool guide.
- If the user does not have merge permissions, the Show Duplicates button is not available.