Non-supported ReleaseNon-supported Release
ECI no longer supports this version of e-automate, and this version of the online help is no longer being updated. ECI recommends upgrading to the current release. Contact your account manager for more information.

Reviewing Duplicate Contacts

To minimize the possibility of creating duplicate contacts, the system now displays duplicate contact warning information when:

Two or more contacts have the same Last name and Email

Two or more contacts have the same Phone 1 and Email
Note: When detecting duplicates, the system does not use the Phone 2 field and does not use the email addresses in the Other emails field.

If you attempt to add a new contact that appears to be a duplicate of an existing contact or if you edit a contact in a manner that makes it appear to be a duplicate of an existing contact based on these criteria, the system:

Displays a duplicate contact warning information message on the New Contact or Edit Contact window, informing you of the fields (Last name, Phone 1, and/or Email) that are duplicated in other Contact records and letting you know you can click the [More info] button in the warning message or at the bottom of the New Contact or Edit Contact window to view the potential duplicates of the current contact

Displays a warning icon to the left of the Last name and Email and/or Phone 1 and Email fields if the information in these fields is duplicated in an existing Contact record

Displays a Hide duplicate warning box near the bottom left of the New Contact or Edit Contact window that you can check if you do not want the system to consider this contact a duplicate contact or that you can leave checked until you have had a chance to see if this contact is a duplicate of another contact

Displays a duplicate contact warning message, the yellow triangle warning icons to the left of applicable fields, and an unchecked Hide duplicate warning box in each existing Contact record for which the Last name and Email and/or Phone 1 and Email fields have the same values as the values you enter for this Contact record (even if you save this record with the Hide duplicate warning box checked)

These messages are displayed from the CM Contact Utility Spreadsheet (CMContactUtils .xls), and from the New Contact or Edit Contact window when you access the window from:

The Contact List Window

A Service Call

A Contract

An Equipment Record

In releases prior to and including Release 16.1, the system did not identify potentially duplicate contacts. As a result, your system may already have multiple contacts with the same Last name and Email and/or Phone 1 and Email.

Using the processes listed in this topic, you can identify potentially duplicate contacts and resolve the potential duplicates by:

Indicating a contact is not a duplicate of another contact

Merging contacts where one contact is a duplicate of another contact

Editing a contact so that it is not a duplicate of another contact

Indicating Potential Duplicates Are Not DuplicatesIndicating Potential Duplicates Are Not Duplicates

If you have two or more contacts that appear to be duplicates based on the system's criteria for identifying duplicates (same Last name and Email and/or Phone 1 and Email) but you want the system to treat these contacts as if they are not duplicates, you can hide the system's duplicate contact warning information.
Note: If you hide duplicate contact warning information for a contact, telling the system the contact is not a duplicate, the system will not find the contact if you perform a QuickSearch using only the Duplicate Email-Last Name and/or Duplicate Email-Phone filters.

To hide duplicate contact warning information for a contact, indicating the contact is not a duplicate of another contact, do the following:

From the e-automate toolbar, select People > Contacts. The Contacts list window opens.

Select from the Contacts list window the contact for which you want to hide the duplicate contact warning information.

Click [ Edit] to open the Edit Contact window.

Check the Hide duplicate warning box to prevent the system from displaying duplicate contact warning information based on this contact's Last name and Email and/or Phone 1 and Email matching the same fields in one or more other contact records.

Click [ OK] to save the changes.
Note: This change applies to this record only. If a different Contact record exists that has the same Last name and Email and/or Phone 1 and Email values as this record and you want the system to consider that Contact record not to be a duplicate of this record, you must uncheck the Hide duplicate warning box in that record, too.

Identifying DuplicatesIdentifying Duplicates

Three options are available for identifying duplicate contacts:

The Duplicate Contacts window, accessed from the New Contact or Edit Contact window's More info icon

The Contacts list window, with QuickSearch set to Duplicate Email-Last Name

The Contacts list window, with QuickSearch set to Duplicate Email-Phone

You can use separately or together the last two options listed above.

If the Hide duplicate warning box is checked in a Contact record, the system excludes the contact from a QuickSearch if the QuickSearch uses only the Duplicate Email-Last Name and/or Duplicate Email-Phone filters. If you determine you want to include in your search any potentially duplicate contacts for which the Hide duplicate warning box is checked in the Contact record, you can perform a more complex search to include these records if they exist.

Locating Potential Duplicates Using the New/Edit Contact Window's More Info ButtonLocating Potential Duplicates Using the New/Edit Contact Window's More Info Button

When you attempt to add a new contact that appears to be a duplicate of an existing contact or edit a contact in a manner that makes it appear to be a duplicate of an existing contact, the system displays a warning on the New Contact or Edit Contact window with this text: "This contact may be a duplicate of an existing contact based on ['the last name and email address'/ 'the telephone and email address'/'the last name, telephone, and email address'] matching. Click the More Info button to see the matching contacts." To view the matching contacts, do the following:

From the New Contact or Edit Contact window, click the More info button in the lower left corner of the window. The system displays the Duplicate Contacts - [Contact Number: Contact Name] window. This window lists all contacts that have the same Last name and Email combination and/or Phone and Email combination as the contact currently displayed in the New Contact or Edit Contact window.

From the Duplicate Contacts window, do any of the following:

To edit a contact, do the following:

Select from the list the contact you want to edit.

Click the [Edit] button. The system displays the Edit Contact window.

Make any changes you want to make.

Click the [OK] button to save your changes, close the Edit Contact window, and return to the Duplicate Contacts window.

To view additional details for any contact in the list, do the following:

Select from the list the contact for whom you want to view additional information.

Click the [View] button. The system displays the contact's information on the View Contact window.

To filter the list, use the QuickSearch. For information on using the QuickSearch functionality, see the Using the QuickSearch topic.

To export the list to Microsoft Excel, click the [Export] button. If you filtered the list using the QuickSearch, the system exports the filtered list to Excel.

To return to the Edit Contact window from which you accessed the Duplicate Contacts window, click the [Close] (red X) button on the Duplicate Contacts window's title bar.

Locating Potential Duplicates Based on Email-Last NameLocating Potential Duplicates Based on Email-Last Name

In the unlabeled Column field (the first field in the QuickSearch region), use the drop-down menu to select Duplicate Email-Last Name.

In the unlabeled Comparison Operator field (the second field from the left in the QuickSearch region), use the drop-down menu to select equals.

Select the Yes radio button.

Click [Go] to display the results.
Note: You can enter additional QuickSearch parameters if desired. For more information, see the Using the QuickSearch topic.

To group potential duplicates in consecutive order, click the Email column to sort by e-mail address.

Locating Potential Duplicates Based on Email-PhoneLocating Potential Duplicates Based on Email-Phone

In the unlabeled Column field (the first field in the QuickSearch region), use the drop-down menu to select Duplicate Email-Phone.

In the unlabeled Comparison Operator field (the second field from the left in the QuickSearch region), use the drop-down menu to select equals.

Select the Yes radio button.

Click [Go] to display the results.
Note: You can enter additional QuickSearch parameters if desired. For more information, see the Using the QuickSearch topic.

To group potential duplicates in consecutive order, do either of the following:

Click the Email column to sort by e-mail address.

Click the Phone column to sort by phone number.

Locating Potential Duplicates Based on Email-Last Name or Email-PhoneLocating Potential Duplicates Based on Email-Last Name or Email-Phone

In the unlabeled Column field (the first field in the QuickSearch region), use the drop-down menu to select Duplicate Email-Last Name.

In the unlabeled Comparison Operator field (the second field from the left in the QuickSearch region), use the drop-down menu to select equals.

Select the Yes radio button.

In the unlabeled field to the right of the radio buttons, use the drop-down menu to select OR. The system displays a new row of QuickSearch fields directly below that row of fields.

In the first field of this new row, use the drop-down menu to select Duplicate Email-Phone.

In the second field of this new row, use the drop-down menu to select equals.

Select the Yes radio button in this new row.

Click [Go] to display the results.
Note: You can enter additional QuickSearch parameters if desired. For more information, see the Using the QuickSearch topic.

To group potential duplicates in consecutive order, click the Email column to sort by e-mail address.

Including Hidden Duplicates in Search for DuplicatesIncluding Hidden Duplicates in Search for Duplicates

Since the process of hiding duplicate warning information in the Contact record permits you to unhide the warnings for one duplicate without unhiding the warnings for all duplicates, you can use a process similar to the following in combination with any of the three preceding processes to include contacts for which the warnings are being hidden in your search for contacts which the system is identifying as duplicates:

With the results of your previous QuickSearch still displayed, locate in the results a set of duplicates for which you want to search for hidden records (e.g., other Contact records where Phone 1 equals 555-555-5555 and Email equals contact@business.com).

In the QuickSearch region, in the unlabeled field to the right of the radio buttons in the last row of your existing search selections, select End/Begin group. The system identifies the first set of fields as one group, lists an unlabeled operator field in the next row below that row, and then lists a new row of fields in the next group below the unlabeled operator field.

In the unlabeled operator field, select OR.

In the first field of the new row in the new group, use the drop-down menu to select Phone.

In the unlabeled operator field to the right of the QuickSearch field, use the drop-down menu to select equals.

In the field to the right of the unlabeled operator field, enter the phone number for which to search (e.g., 555-555-5555).

In the unlabeled field to the right of the unlabeled phone number entry field, select AND. The system displays a new row of QuickSearch fields directly below that row of fields in the second group.

In the first field of the new row in the new group, use the drop-down menu to select Email.

In the unlabeled operator field to the right of the QuickSearch field, use the drop-down menu to select equals.

In the field to the right of the unlabeled operator field, enter the email for which to search (e.g., contact@business.com).

Click [Go] to display the results.
Note: You can enter additional QuickSearch parameters if desired. For more information, see the Using the QuickSearch topic.

To group potential duplicates in consecutive order, click the Email column to sort by e-mail address.

Removing Duplicates by Merging ContactsRemoving Duplicates by Merging Contacts

From the Contact list window (filtered to display duplicate emails), select a contact you want to merge into another contact.
Note: When you merge two contacts, the Merge from contact is the contact you want to remove and the Merge into contact is the contact you want to keep.

Click the Merge icon, or right-click the contact you have selected in the display and select Merge from the right-click menu. The system displays the Contact Merge window and populates the Merge from field with the contact you selected.

Read the informational warning located at the top of the Contact Merge window.

In the Merge from field, verify the contact selected. Use the lookup icon to select a different contact as needed.

In the Merge into field, use the lookup icon to select the contact with whom you want to merge this contact.
Note: The Merge into contact is the contact that stays in the e-automate database and receives all the merge contact’s equipment, contracts, activities, etc.

Click [OK] to begin the merge process.

The Attention Required window displays, asking if you are sure you want to continue. To cancel, click [No]. To continue, click [Yes].

Because this is a permanent action, e-automate verifies a second time that you want to merge with a warning that the transaction is irreversible. If you are sure, click [Yes]. To cancel, click [No].

If you clicked [Yes] in the previous step, e-automate permanently removes the Merge from contact and reassigns all associated e-automate references to the Merge into contact, and then reports the merge was successful. Click [OK] to acknowledge the message.

Repeat the preceding steps as necessary to remove duplicate contacts by merging additional contacts.

Removing Duplicates by Editing ContactsRemoving Duplicates by Editing Contacts

To remove duplicates by editing contacts after locating the contacts using the process described in the "Identifying Duplicates > Locating Potential Duplicates Using the New/Edit Contact Window's More Info Button" section listed earlier in this topic, see that section of the topic; it includes information on editing the contacts from the Duplicate Contacts window. Two remove duplicates by editing contacts after locating the contacts using the results displayed on the Contact list window after using any of the other processes listed in the "Identifying Duplicates" section listed earlier in this topic, use the steps listed below.

From the Contact list window (filtered to display duplicate emails), select a contact for whom you want to edit the Last name, Phone 1, or Email field(s).

Click the Edit icon, or right-click the contact and select Edit from the right-click menu. The system opens the Edit Contact window and displays the record for the selected contact.

Verify the Profile tab is forward.

If the Hide duplicate warning box is checked, uncheck it.
Note: When the Hide duplicate warning box is unchecked and the system identifies two or more contacts as potential duplicates, the system displays a warning icon to the left of the Last name and Email fields and/or the Phone 1 and Email fields if the values in either or both of those field combinations match the corresponding values in another contact record. The system also displays a warning message. When you edit a field in a manner that makes this contact unique, the system removes the warning icon from the left of the field. When all the warning icons to the left of these fields are removed, the system removes the warning message.

In the Last name field, verify and edit if necessary the last name for this contact.

In the Phone 1 field, verify and edit if necessary the primary phone number for this contact.
Note: Contacts are not considered duplicates on the basis of the Phone 2 and Email fields matching.

In the Email field, verify and edit if necessary the e-mail address for this contact.
Note: When checking for a Last name and Email match or a Phone 1 and Email match to identify potential duplicates, the system does not check the email addresses (if any) in the Other emails field.

When no warning symbols remain, click [OK] to save the contact.

Repeat the preceding steps as necessary to remove other duplicate contacts by editing existing contacts.