Check for duplicates

Can I do this task?

Duplicate detection can take place only if duplicate detection is enabled in Duplicate Detection Settings and if at least one duplicate-detection rule A rule that specifies criteria for identifying a record as a duplicate. exists for the record type.

1. Start duplicate detection.

   Start duplicate detection from any list of records, including results of an Advanced Find search

   1. When displaying the list, in the Records group, click Detect Duplicates. Then do one of the following:
      • To look for duplicates in selected records, click For Selected Records.

        - OR -

      • To look for duplicates in all records on all pages of the current view, click For All Records on All Pages.

        Note

      Detect Duplicates is available only for a list of records when:

      • You have enabled duplicate detection for the record type.
      • There is at least one published duplicate detection rule for the record type.

   Start duplicate detection from the Workplace, Tools menu, or Settings area

   1. Click the File tab. Then, from the menu, click Tools, and then click Duplicate Detection.

      - OR -

      In the Navigation Pane, click Workplace. Then, under My Work, click Duplicate Detection, and then click New.

      - OR -

      In the Navigation Pane, click Settings. Then, click Data Management, click Duplicate Detection Jobs, and click New.

   2. Click Next.
   3. In the Look for list, click a record type.

      The Look for list includes only record types that have published duplicate-detection rules. More information: Work with Duplicate-detection Rules

   4. Select criteria to define the records that Microsoft Dynamics CRM will use to check for duplicates:
      • To use criteria from a saved view:

        In the Use Saved View list, click a view from the System Views Views that are associated with record types, managed for the whole organization, and available to all users.System views can be customized by a user who has privileges to customize entities. or My Views Views that you have created and saved using Advanced Find, or that another user has created and shared with you. section.

        - OR -

      • To use new criteria:

        For each criteria to use in the search, click an item in the Select list. More information: Work with Advanced Find

        Tips

        • To make sure that you have the records you want, click Preview Records.
        • To change the columns that are displayed in the preview, or the column order, sort order, or column widths, click Edit Columns.
        • To save these criteria to use later, click Save As. This saved view will be available in the My Views section of the View box.
   5. Click Next.
2. Specify:
   • The name of the duplicate-detection job.
   • When you want the duplicate-detection job to start. You also can specify to run the job on a regular schedule.
   • Whether you want notification sent to you and to other users when the background duplicate-detection job completes.
3. Click Next, and then click Submit.

   The duplicate detection job processes in the background. If you requested notification, you will receive an e-mail notification when the job completes, with a link to the page where you can resolve To decide whether to enter a duplicate record or whether to merge data when two or more records are duplicates. duplicates.

4. To view the potential duplicates, after the duplicate-detection job completes, in Workplace, under My Work, click Duplicate Detection.
5. Open your duplicate-detection job.
6. Under Related, click View Duplicates.

   The top list displays all records that have potential duplicates. When you select a record in the top list, the bottom list shows all the potential duplicates for that record. For more information about resolving duplicate records, see Resolve potential duplicate records.

Notes

• Your system administrator or system customizer determines the criteria for identifying a record as a potential duplicate. More information: Requesting User Interface Changes
• To refresh the list of duplicate records, you must run a new duplicate-detection job:
  • After a record has been merged or deactivated, the record is still displayed on the bottom list.
  • You can use the Modified On column to determine whether a record was modified after the duplicate-detection job was run.

• After a record has been deleted, merged or deactivated, the record is still displayed on the top list.