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. In any list, on the More Actions menu, click Detect Duplicates.
   2. To search selected records, click For Selected Records.

      - OR -

      To search all records on all pages of the current view, click For All Records on All Pages.

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

   1. On the Tools menu, click Duplicate Detection.

      - OR -

      In the Workplace, in the My Work section, click Duplicate Detection, and then click New.

      - OR -

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

   2. Click Next.
   3. To specify the record type to check for duplicates, in the Look for box, select a record type.

      Only record types that have published duplicate-detection rules will be included in the Look for box. More information: Work with Duplicate-detection Rules

   4. Select criteria to define the records to check for duplicates:
      • To use criteria from a saved view, in the Use Saved View box, select 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 -

        For each criteria to add, click Select. More information: Work with Advanced Find

      Tips:

      • To preview the records to make sure you have the records you want, click Preview Records.
      • To change which columns 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 saves the criteria as a saved view.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 OK, or click Finish.

   Duplicate-detection is processed 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 the Workplace, under My Work, click Duplicate Detection.
5. Open your duplicate-detection job.
6. Under Details, 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 duplicate records.

7. In the top list of records that may have duplicates, select a record.
8. In the list of potential duplicate records, for each potential duplicate record found, select the record, and then do any of the following actions:
   • View the record. To view the contents of a record to help you decide what to do, double-click the record.
   • Edit the record. On the Actions toolbar, click More Actions, and then click Edit.
   • Deactivate the record. On the Actions toolbar, click More Actions, click Deactivate, and then in the confirmation dialog box, click OK.
   • Merge the records. On the Actions toolbar click the Merge button .

     If you want the record in the top list to be the master record The record that stays active when records are merged. Data from the subordinate record is added to this record., click Automatically.

     - OR -

     If you want to choose the master record:

     1. Click Select Master.
     2. In the Merge Records dialog box, select which record to make the new master record.
     3. Select the fields from each record that you want to include in the master record. Fields that are shaded will overwrite the corresponding unshaded field during the merge operation.
     4. When you are ready to merge the two records, click OK.

     When you receive the message The selected records are merged and the subordinate record is deactivated, click OK.

   • Delete the record. On the Actions toolbar, click the Delete button . In the Select Delete or Deactivate dialog box, click Delete, and then in the confirmation dialog box, click OK.
9. When you have finished resolving duplicates, click Close.

Notes

• Your system administrator or system customizer determines the criteria for identifying a record as a potential duplicate. More information: Requesting User Interface Changes
• If you enter a duplicate record within a few minutes of entering the first record, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online will not detect the duplicate record. The matchcodes Codes created for every record that a duplicate-detection rule might apply to, used as part of the process of detecting duplicates. for new and updated records are created every five minutes, rather than as a record is created.
• 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.

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