Starting with release 8.2.3, we have implemented a duplicate management system to weed out duplicate contacts present in the OfficeClip Contact Manager. Currently there are two places where duplicates are managed:
- OfficeClip administrators are able to detect existing duplicate contacts and merge or remove them.
- While importing contacts, duplicates can be ignored at input.
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Detecting and Removing existing duplicates
The duplicates can be found using one main criterion (like email address) and a set of other criteria (like first name, last name, company etc). Once the duplicates are detected, they are shown on the screen giving the user a choice of what to do with the duplicates. The following choices are possible:
- Skip: The duplicate is skipped and kept in the database
- Merge: The duplicate is merged with the next contact. At least two entries can be merged. The first one in the list will be treated as master. Fields from other records will be merged with this record only if they are missing in the master record but present in the other record
- Delete: This entry will be removed from the database
Avoiding duplicates during import
When importing contacts, very often people import the same file over and again or the import file may have many duplicates. OfficeClip has provided a feature so that users can choose to Delete, Merge or Skip duplicates while importing contacts.
Photo courtesy Flickr Creative Commons Attribution License
SK Dutta is a software architect and creator of OfficeClip Suite of products. He loves to design and develop software that makes people do their job better and more fun. He always explores ways to improve productivity for small businesses. He is also an avid reader in many areas, including psychology, productivity, and business.