Basics

• With the Combine Contacts Tool, you can combine separate Contact records into a single record. You can also add a similar-to relationship to Contact records.
  
• The Tool is available on the Contacts page and any filtered version of the Contacts page.
• The Tool can be launched from an open record or from the Grid Layout, with or without a selection of records.
• SPoCs should regularly use the Combine Contacts Tool to keep data clean.
• In this Tool, potential duplicates are identified using the Duplicate Finder routine, which runs nightly to create "Duplicate of" records. Note that, if a duplicate record is entered today, it will not display as a potential duplicate in the Tool until tomorrow, after the routine runs tonight.
  
  Not seeing any potential duplicates in the Tool? Make sure you haven't disabled the Duplicate Finder routine in your system.
  
• The Tool ignores records that you've already marked as "Similar Records".
• If potential duplicates are found, the drop-down list shows those Contact records that you can choose from.
  • If launched from an open record, that record displays at the top of the list.
  • If launched from a selection of at least two records, the selected records display.
  • Click Find Duplicates to see and choose from additional potential duplicates in the drop-down list.
  • Note: If you launch the tool from the grid without making a selection, you can make a selection from the list of potential duplicates. These are only potential duplicates, so don't be surprised if the list is long. Be sure to check the Duplicates view on the Contacts Relationships page to see actual duplicate Contact records.
• Each column displays data fields from the Contact record, as well as from any associated Household, Participant, Donor, and User records. Each field is listed as its own row, but only fields that are populated on at least one of the loaded records will display. This means the Tool may show different lists of fields depending on the records being compared and how much data they contain.
• The Donor, Household, and User records you select in the grid will be kept and associated with the newly-merged Contact record. Those that are not selected will be merged/eliminated.
  • If a different Address and/or Congregation is selected in the merge process, these changes are reflected in the Household selected in the Tool.
  • If any unselected Household(s) become empty as a result of the elimination of a Contact record through the merge process, the newly-empty Household(s) will be eliminated.
• The Audit Log records any changes made to the kept record as a result of combining. 
• Need to find more duplicates? Check the Duplicates view on the Contacts Relationships page to see actual duplicate Contact records.
  
• Note: The Tool combines Contact, Participant, Donor, and User records. It does not combine Household records. Need to combine Households? Check out the Combine Households Tool for more information.

Initial Setup

The Combine Contacts Tool is available on the Contacts page. SPoCs can grant Users access to this tool by configuring Security Roles and Permissions for Tools. 

Combining Contacts

1. Launch the tool from any page that references the Contacts page (for example, Contacts, Participants, etc.) by:
   • Tools > Combine Contacts > choose a name in the Selected Records drop-down (this process will allow you to combine Contacts marked as "Duplicate Of" or identified by the Duplicate Finder routine), OR
   • Select two or more duplicate records > Tools > Combine Contacts, OR
   • Open desired record > Tools > Combine Contacts.
2. Review the records to be combined. Note that the tool will only display selection options for standard database fields, and will not include any custom fields.
   • If needed, check the box for any additional Contacts that "will be merged" that might be grayed out. Note that if the column for a Contact is grayed out and not selected, it will not be part of the combined action.
   • If desired, change the Contact to Keep by selecting the alternate radio button.
   • If you prefer information to be kept other than what's included in the Contact to Keep, simply choose the alternate radio button.
   • Note: If you have custom fields, the values for the Contact record you choose to keep will be kept.
3. Click Merge.
   • As a part of this process, any Participant and Donor Notes are combined into the surviving record. The tool automatically truncates values that exceed the default field length.
     

Handling Contacts that aren't Duplicates

Occasionally the system or a user may incorrectly identify records as duplicates (e.g., father and adult son have the same name). You can remedy this situation by indicating the records as similar records, which will indicate to the system and other users that these records can be ignored as possible duplicates.

If this situation is found while using the Combine Contacts Tool:

1. Uncheck the selected records.
2. Check the box next to "Mark un-selected records as similar to merged record".
3. Select the Combine Contacts button.
4. Close the Tool.

You can also help preemptively by adding a "Similar Records" relationship as soon as you become aware of the records (so they never even get caught by the system or other users as a possible duplicates).

To do so:

1. Open one of the Contact records.
2. Go to the Relationships sub-page.
3. Click New.
4. Choose the "Similar Records" relationship.
5. Indicate the appropriate Related Contact.
6. Save.

Handling Contacts that have "APIUser (Do Not Edit)" in the Audit Log

Sometimes duplicate records are created as a result of someone creating a Portal account. Any record created by the Portal will indicate the user "APIUser (Do Not Edit)" in the Audit Log. It is OK for you to use the Combine Contacts Tool on these duplicate records. The "Do Not Edit" notation is simply letting you know that the APIUser record itself should not be edited (but records created by the APIUser can be edited).

Troubleshooting

The following scenarios can cause the tool to freeze or not work properly:

• One of the email addresses is invalid and/or has a comma in it.
• The Users are part of the same User Group.
• The Users are in the same Security Role.
• The Users have an Identity record with the same Provider Name.
• The Contact has a comma in the Suffix or Last Name fields.
• If Contacts both have attached images, the default file will appear twice and the Record will appear twice.

If this occurs, edit one of the records so the above scenarios are no longer true and run the tool again.

Handling Contacts that were Accidentally Combined

Deleted data is not stored anywhere. If Contacts are accidentally combined, the only way to retrieve the information is for a SPoC or Professional Services to restore a database backup from before the merge took place. You should act on this quickly since backups may be limited to a recent timeframe (depending on your backup strategy, this could be as little as 2 weeks).