Merging Duplicate Records

You might find that two or more records contain the same information. To keep the database accurate, you can merge the records into one record. The Merge Records command allows you to merge multiple records into one record.

When you use the Merge Records command, the Merge Records dialog box appears (shown in Figure 6-3).

Figure 6-3 Example of the Merge Records Dialog Box

If other records are associated with the records you merge, then those records are associated with the surviving record. Any duplicate associated records are deleted.

You can merge only records for which you are the owner or for which you are the primary person. The merge functionality might not be available to you because of your access privileges and your configuration.

Note: When you merge two records, you must pick the surviving record and the source record. Field values for the source record do not exist after you merge records. Only field values in the surviving record remain after you merge records. For example, if you merge two contact records, and the source record contains a value in the Job Title field, but the surviving record does not, then the Job Title field in the surviving record has no value after the merge. The value in the Job Title field in the source record is overwritten by the value in the Job Title field in the surviving record, even when that value is NULL.

To merge two records  

1. Click the record that is the source record.

2. Press and hold down the CTRL key, and click the record that is the surviving record.

   After the merge is complete, the source record is merged into the surviving record.

3. From the application-level menu, choose Edit, then Merge Records.

   
   

   Note: If the Merge Records command is unavailable, then the functionality is not supported for the record types you select.

   
   

   The Merge Records dialog box appears, displaying a field value for the surviving record.

4. Review the information in the dialog box to make sure the correct record survives, and click OK to complete the merge.

   The records are merged into a single record that has the name of the surviving record and that includes the data from the surviving record.