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When the same enquiry arrives twice

1 min read · By Stefan Köhn

The same person submits the form twice, or a source delivers a record again. You decide what the application recognises that by and what should happen then.

What a duplicate is recognised by

You pick a field, usually email or phone. If the same value comes in again, the submission counts as the same record. With no field picked there is no check, and every submission creates a new record.

The field on the left, the consequence on the right. Without a field the right-hand choice stays dimmed, because then there is nothing to decide.
The field on the left, the consequence on the right. Without a field the right-hand choice stays dimmed, because then there is nothing to decide.

Three ways on a match

Update the existing record writes the new values into the one already there. Discard the submission leaves it untouched and tells the sending side that nothing new was created. Create anyway adds a second record, which is right when the same person really does want two different things.

Step by step

  1. Open Settings, Entities, the Duplicates section.
  2. Pick the field a case can be recognised by.
  3. Decide what should happen on a match.

Which field works best?

One that identifies a person and that they enter themselves: email or phone. A name will not do, there are too many alike.

Does the check apply to data I bring in?

It applies at intake, so everywhere a record is created: form, API, batch. See Bringing data in.

What about records that are already there?

The check looks at the existing stock of this entity. It works from the moment you set it up and does not clean up retroactively.

Is this the same as the distribution duplicate check?

No. This one decides whether a record is created at all. The distribution one decides whether an existing record may go to a partner again. See Distribution settings.