Section Topics
How Multi-Contact Duplicate Merge Combines Data
The following tables show how InterAction combines the data in the good and duplicate contacts when merging source contacts and correcting links using the Multi-Contact Duplicate Merge.
Note that most users will not need this much detail; this information is provided primarily for administrators who may want to know exactly how the data has been combined or why specific data was lost.
For all of these scenarios, InterAction follows two main rules for checking access rights:
- InterAction always checks contact detail access rights before modifying or adding information to the good version of the contact.
- InterAction does not check contact detail access rights when adding folder-specific information to a link to the good version of the contact.
This section includes the following topics:
- Duplicate Merge Scenarios
- Correcting Duplicate Links Scenarios
- Transferring Shared Phones and Addresses
Duplicate Merge Scenarios
The scenarios in this table only apply when merging source contacts. For scenarios on correcting a link to a duplicate contact contained in the Duplicates folder, see Correcting Duplicate Links Scenarios.
Table legend:
- Scenario describes the data in the good and duplicate contacts.
- Result describes the result after the duplicate merge.
- Access Rights lists the access rights needed to get the result described in the Result column.
| Scenario | Result | Access Rights |
|---|---|---|
| Name Information | ||
| Both the duplicate and the good contacts have the same value in one of the name fields. | Nothing will be changed. | N/A |
| The duplicate and the good contacts have different values in one of the name fields. | The value for the good contact will be kept. The value for the duplicate contact will be saved in a retained data activity. | N/A |
| The duplicate contact has a value for one of the name fields, and the good contact has no value for the same field. | The value for the duplicate contact will be used. | Edit Name |
| Company Association (applies only to person contacts) | ||
| Both the duplicate and the good contact have the same value for the company. |
Nothing will be changed. Both the good contact and duplicate contact keep the company association. If the duplicate contact is associated with the company and the good contact is not, InterAction will attempt to associate the good contact with the company. |
Edit Association (required for the company association) |
| The duplicate and good contacts have different values for the company name. | The company information for the good contact is kept. The information for the duplicate contact is saved in a retained data activity. It does not matter whether the contacts are associated to the companies or not. | N/A |
| The duplicate contact has company information, and the good contact does not. | The value for the duplicate contact will be used. If the duplicate is associated with the company, InterAction will attempt to associate the good contact with the company. |
Edit Name to use the duplicate name Edit Association to associate the good contact with a company. |
|
Phones and Addresses In the scenarios below, “address” always refers to both street addresses and electronic addresses. |
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| The address or phone on the duplicate contact matches an existing address or phone on the good version of the contact. | Nothing is changed. | N/A |
| The address or phone on the duplicate contact is similar to an item on the good version. | Unless you choose to keep the similar information, the address or phone is not added to the good contact. | N/A |
| Both the duplicate and the good contacts have an item of type Business or Business2. The items do not match. | The item on the duplicate contact will become an Alternate Business item on the good contact. | Add Addresses, Add Phone, or Add E-Address |
| Both the duplicate and the good contacts have an item of type Home. The items do not match. | The item on the duplicate contact will become an Alternate Home item on the good contact. | Add Addresses, Add Phone, or Add E-Address |
| Related Contacts (Including Who Knows Whom) | ||
| Both the duplicate and the good contacts have the same relationship with the same contact (for example, both versions of the contact have an “is board member of” relationship with the same company). | Nothing is changed. | N/A |
| The duplicate and good contacts each have different relationship with the same contact. | The relationship from the duplicate contact will be added. | Add Related Contact |
| The duplicate contact has a relationship that the good contact does not have. | The relationship from the duplicate contact will be added. | Add Related Contact |
| A different contact has a relationship with the duplicate contact. | A new relationship between the other contact and the good contact will be created. The existing relationship between the contact and the duplicate will not be changed. | None |
| Classifications | ||
| The duplicate contact has classifications applied. | The classifications are applied to the good version of the contact. | Add Classification |
| When merging two contacts in the same folder, the duplicate contact has a folder-specific classification, but the user does not have add classification access rights to the good version of the contact. | The classification is not applied to the good version. | N/A |
| Activities | ||
| The duplicate contact has activities. | All activities for the duplicate contact are copied to the good contact. | Add Activity |
| The duplicate contact has regarding contacts activities, but the user does not have add activity access rights to the good contact. | The activities are lost. Note that the activities are not saved in a retained data activity. | N/A |
| When merging two contacts in the same folder, the duplicate contact has a regarding folders activity, but the user does not have add activity access rights to the good version of the contact. | The activities are lost. Note that the activities are not saved in a retained data activity. | N/A |
| Appointments | ||
| The duplicate contact has appointments. | All appointments for the duplicate contact are copied to the good contact. | Add Activity |
| The duplicate contact has global appointments, but the user does not have add activity access rights to the good contact. | The appointments are lost. Note that the appointments are not saved in a retained data activity. | N/A |
| When merging two contacts in the same folder, the duplicate contact has a folder-specific appointment, but the user does not have add activity access rights to the good version of the contact. | The appointments are lost. Note that the appointments are not saved in a retained data activity. | N/A |
| Documents | ||
| The duplicate contact has documents. | All documents for the duplicate contact are copied to the good contact. | Add Activity |
| The duplicate contact has global documents, but the user does not have add activity access rights to the good contact. | The documents are lost. Note that the documents are not saved in a retained data activity. | N/A |
| When merging two contacts in the same folder, the duplicate contact has a folder-specific document, but the user does not have add activity access rights to the good version of the contact. | The documents are lost. Note that the documents are not saved in a retained data activity. | N/A |
| Single-Value Additional Fields | ||
| Both the duplicate and the good contacts have the same value in the additional field. | Nothing will be changed. | N/A |
| The duplicate and the good contacts have different values in the additional field. | The value for the good contact will be kept. The value for the duplicate contact will be saved in a retained data activity. | N/A |
| The duplicate contact has a value for an additional field, and the good contact has no value for the same field. | The value for the duplicate contact will be used. | Edit Additional Fields |
| When merging two contacts in the same folder, the duplicate contact has a value in a folder-specific additional field. The good contact has no value in the same field, but the user does not have edit additional field access rights to the good version of the contact. | The field value is lost and saved to a retained data activity. | N/A |
| Multiple-Value Additional Fields | ||
| Both the duplicate and the good contacts have values in the additional field. Some of the values in the field match. | The matching values are not added to the list of values for the good contact. Values that do not match are added. | Edit Additional Field (for adding the values that do not match from the Windows Client) |
| The duplicate contact has values in a multiple-value additional field. The good version of the contact does not have matching values in the field. | The values from the duplicate are added to the list of values for the field in the good version of the contact. | Edit Additional Field |
| When merging two contacts in the same folder, the duplicate contact has values in a folder-specific additional field, but the user does not have edit additional field access rights to the good version of the contact. | The values from the duplicate are not applied to the good version. | N/A |
| Primary Sponsor and Other Sponsors | ||
| Both the duplicate and the good contacts have the same primary sponsor. | Nothing will be changed. | N/A |
| The duplicate and the good contacts have different primary sponsors. | The primary sponsor for the duplicate version of the contact will be added as an other sponsor to the good contact. | Edit Additional Field |
| The primary sponsor on the duplicate contact is already included in the list of other sponsors on the good contact. | Nothing will be changed. | N/A |
| Both the duplicate and the good contacts have sponsors in the Other Sponsors additional field and some of the sponsors in the field match. | Nothing will be changed. | N/A |
| The duplicate contact has sponsors in the Other Sponsors additional field. The good version of the contact does not have matching sponsors in the Other Sponsors field. | The other sponsors from the duplicate version of the contact will be added to the good contact. | Edit Additional Field |
| Notes | ||
| Both the duplicate and the good contact have notes. | The notes for the duplicate contact are appended to the end of the notes for the good contact. | Edit Notes |
| Both the duplicate and the good contact have notes. The total length of the combined notes is too long for the notes field. | The complete text of the duplicate notes is copied to a retained data activity. | N/A |
| When merging two contacts in the same folder, the duplicate contact has folder-specific notes, but the user does not have edit notes access rights to the good version of the contact. | The notes for the duplicate contact are added to the retained data activity. | N/A |
| Contact Flags | ||
| Both contacts are in the same folder that supports flagging and have different colored flags applied (for example, the good contact has the blue flag, while the duplicate has the orange flag). | The flag color for the good contact is retained (continuing the example, the resulting contact would have the blue flag applied). | N/A |
| Both contacts are in the same folder that supports flagging, but one is flagged and the other is not. | The flag status for the good contact is retained. Therefore, if the good contact is flagged (with any color) and the duplicate is not, the resulting contact is flagged. If the duplicate contact is flagged and the good contact is not, the resulting contact is not flagged in the folder. | N/A |
| One of the contacts is in a folder that supports flagging and has a flag applied. The other contact is not in this folder. | The resulting contact is linked into the folder and the flag status of the contact in the folder is retained. It does not matter which contact is the good contact and which is the duplicate in this case. | N/A |
Correcting Duplicate Links Scenarios
Merging duplicates works differently when you are merging a link to a contact sourced in the Duplicates folder. This essentially corrects the duplicate indicator by replacing a link to a duplicate contact with a link to the good version of the contact. This process also transfers any folder-specific data from the duplicate link to the new link.
NOTE For an example, refer back to Correcting Links to Duplicate Contacts.
When correcting a duplicate link, access rights for the contact data are ignored. For example, assume you do not have edit notes access rights to the folder containing the duplicate link. The duplicate link includes some folder-specific notes.
When you replace the link, the folder-specific notes will be transferred to the new link, even though you do not have access to edit notes in that folder normally.
Table legend:
- Scenario describes the data in the good and duplicate contacts.
- Result describes the result after the duplicate merge.
Throughout this table, the term “duplicate link” refers to a link to the duplicate version of the contact (e.g., the contact that has been moved to the Duplicates folder). The term “good link” refers to a link to the good version of the contact.
| Scenario | Result |
|---|---|
|
Phones and Addresses In the scenarios below, “address” always refers to both street addresses and electronic addresses. |
|
| The address or phone on the duplicate link matches an existing global or folder-specific address or phone on the good version of the contact. | Nothing will be changed. |
| The address or phone on the duplicate link is similar to a global or folder-specific item on the good version. | The address or phone is not added to the good contact. The data is saved to a retained data activity. |
| Both the duplicate and the good links have a folder-specific item of type Business. The items do not match. | The phone or address on the duplicate link will be added to the good link with the type Alternate Business. |
| Both the duplicate and the good links have a folder-specific item of type Business2. The items do not match. | The phone or address on the duplicate link will be added to the good link with the type Alternate Business. |
| Both the duplicate and the good contacts have a folder-specific item of type Home. The items do not match. | The phone or address on the duplicate link will be added to the good link with the type Alternate Home. |
| Classifications | |
| Both the duplicate and good links have the same folder-specific classification applied. | Nothing will be changed. |
| The duplicate link has folder-specific classifications applied. | The classifications are applied to the good link. |
| Activities | |
| The duplicate link has regarding folders activities. | The activities are copied to the good link. |
| Single-Value Additional Fields | |
| Both the duplicate and the good links have the same value in a folder-specific additional field. | Nothing will be changed. |
| The duplicate and the good links have different values in the additional field. | The value for the good link will be kept. The value for the duplicate link will be saved in a retained data activity. |
| The duplicate link has a value for an additional field, and the good link has no value for the same field. | The value for the duplicate link will be used. |
| Multiple-Value Additional Fields | |
| Both the duplicate and the good links have values in the same folder-specific additional field. Some of the values in the field match. | The matching values will not be added to the list of values for the good link. Values that do not match will be added. |
| Notes | |
| The duplicate link has folder-specific notes. | The notes for the duplicate link are appended to the end of the notes for the good link. This occurs regardless of whether or not the good link has folder-specific notes. |
| Both the duplicate and the good link have notes. The total length of the combined notes is too long for the notes field. | The complete text of the combined notes is copied to a retained data activity. |
Transferring Shared Phones and Addresses
A person associated to a company typically shares phones and addresses from the company. These appear with the company icon in the summary pane and in the Phones & Addresses view.
Company Information Used by a Person Contact
[A] This phone is specific to the contact Jane Tarnoff.
[B] The phone, fax, and Web site are all stored with the company contact (TeleNorth Financial Services) and used by Jane.
When correcting the association for a person, InterAction also fixes phones and addresses that the person shared from the duplicate company.
For example, Jane Tarnoff was associated with the duplicate company TeleNorth. Her contact currently shares the company phone number (312) 555-1212.
After merging the duplicate company and associating Jane with the good version of the company, InterAction also “transfers” Jane’s business phone number so that the contact shares the phone stored with the good version rather than the duplicate version of the company.
The following table summarizes the rules InterAction uses when transferring company phones and addresses. In all of these rules, the term “phones and addresses” includes all types of phones and both street addresses and electronic addresses.
| Scenario | Result |
|---|---|
| The person shares a phone or address that already exists on both the good and the duplicate company. | The person is updated to share the item from the good company instead of the duplicate. No new data is added. |
| The person uses a phone or address from the duplicate company that is similar to an item on the good company, but does not match exactly. Similar information is described further in “Similar Address Information,” later. | If there is no exact match, the person contact is updated to share the similar item on the good company. If there is an exact match, the previous rule applies instead. |
| The person shares a phone or address from the duplicate company that does not match any items on the good company. | The phone or address will be added to the good company, provided the user performing the merge has sufficient access rights to add data to the company. The person will be updated to share this new item from the good company. |
| The person shares a phone or address from the duplicate company that does not match any items on the good company, but the user performing the merge does not have sufficient access to add a phone or address to the good company. | The phone or address will be added directly to the person contact and no longer shared from the company. At a later point, someone with access rights can manually transfer the item to the company. |
Phone Number Extensions
Note that phone extensions are stored with the person contact, not with the company. In all of the above scenarios, a person’s extension will not be lost. The extension will be added to the phone shared from the company.
Similar Address Information
InterAction will match similar addresses if an exact match is not available. This ensures that two slightly different addresses are treated as a match.
Examples of similar address information include:
- Different use of abbreviations, such as one address with “Street” and the other with just “St.”.
- Street addresses that only differ in a few numbers. For example, “1420 Kensington St., Oak Brook, IL” will be matched with “1400 Kensington St., Oak Brook, IL.”
Transferring Phones and Addresses During a Duplicate Contact Merge
The person contact Jane Tarnoff is associated with the company TeleNorth. This company is a duplicate of TeleNorth Financial Services.
Jane’s contact currently uses the following information from the duplicate company TeleNorth:
Business Address:
1420 W. Granville
Chicago, IL, 60660
Business Phone: (312) 555-1212
Business Web Site: www.telenorth.com
Business Fax: (312) 555-1818
The good version of the company (TeleNorth Financial Services) has the following phones and addresses:
Business Address:
1402 West Granville Avenue
Chicago, IL, 60660
Business Phone: (312) 555-1212
Note the minor differences in the street address.
When correcting Jane’s contact to associate with the good version of the company, InterAction does the following:
- The address is similar and no other exact match is available. The address for the duplicate company is replaced with the address from the good company.
- The business phone matches exactly, so the phone from the duplicate company is replaced with the same phone from the good company.
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The Web site and business fax do not exist on the good company. These items are added to the company, then associated with Jane’s contact.
If the user correcting the contact did not have access rights to add these items, InterAction would add them directly to Jane’s contact.
