Why are duplicate contacts an issue? – Users log into the portal as a contact. If an individual has multiple contact records, each with different roles, the user will not have access to the sites their duplicate contact record can access.


 

Why merge? – Deleting records also deletes the relationships associated with that record. The merge tool will duplicate all the relationships from the record(s) to be deleted onto the record that we’re keeping.


 

What you will need before merging

  • The email address the contact uses to log into ecConnect.
  • Confirmation that the supposedly duplicate contact records do in fact correspond to the user requesting the merge. You can use the email addresses to confirm that the contacts reference that user and not a different user with the same name.


Steps to Merge

Step 1:  Go to the Contacts index page and open one of the contact records to be merged.

Step 2:  Click the arrow next to the Edit button and select “Find Duplicates” 


Step 3: If you don’t see all the duplicates, click on the Contacts Module and enter the Contact’s name in the search bar and check the box in the leftmost column for all the contact records you want to merge and select the “Merge Duplicates” button from the drop down in the top left corner of the this page.


Step 4: The first row of the merge view has a column that says “Primary.” Drag the “Primary” slider to the column that has the Portal Username that the contact uses to log in. 

        

Step 5: Review the rest of the fields from the non-primary record. If any of the data in the non-primary record is more complete or more accurate than the data for that field on the primary record, you can click on the circle to the left of the value you want to keep. 


Behind the Scenes: this process will not preserve all primary email addresses.  If this person has different primary email addresses across their duplicate accounts that you would like preserved on their final contact record, make sure to document those alternate emails. You can then add them on the final merged record as secondary email addresses after the merge.

       

Step 6: Review to make sure the blue circles correspond to the most accurate information and then press the “Save” button to start the merge.

 

Step 7: A warning message will appear. Select “Confirm” to proceed.

        

Step 8:  You’ll see a progress bar and then a success message indicating that the two records have been merged and the relationships from the now-deleted record(s) have been merged into the one remaining record.