Importing Contacts Produces Duplicates: New Merge Function N

Comments

• 8 Comments sorted by Votes Date Added
• pinaki

  July 2009 Vote Up0Vote Down

  hi altstatten,
  
  you can find some basic documentation on import/export on our wiki here -
  <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://wiki.vtiger.com/index.php/vtiger510:feature_export/import_enhancements">http://wiki.vtiger.com/index.php/vtiger ... hancements</a><!-- m -->. to use the auto-merge feature during import, click on the duplicate merging checkbox on the bottom of the import mapping page. here you have two options - manual or auto merging. we suggest you use auto-merging and let the crm handle the duplicates for you. once, you select the auto merging option, you will get two options - ignore the duplicate import records or overwrite the duplicate records. i think in your case, you need the second option, so that duplicate records are merged.
  
  once you are done selecting the merge type, select the fields based on which you want to merge. these would generally be the fields which you modified after you exported the data. select the fields that match your criteria and click on "import now" button.
  
  you will be shown the number of duplicate records which were skipped once the import is completed. you can always revert back your changes if you find the import incorrect. let us know how you fare.
  
  regards
  pinaki
  vtiger team
• Altstatten

  July 2009 Vote Up0Vote Down

  ummm...pretty sure i explained that i already read the instructions <!-- s --><img src="{smilies_path}/icon_cry.gif" alt="" title="crying or very sad" /><!-- s --> , tested this thing every which way but no matter what i do there's always a duplicate for every record.
  
  i even exported a single record and imported it without opening the file just to make sure nothing was changed. dupe! <!-- s:x --><img src="{smilies_path}/icon_mad.gif" alt=":x" title="mad" /><!-- s:x -->
  
  is anyone else having this issue or is it just me? i'm following the instructions to the letter but still getting dupes. the only thing i can think of is that the mere act of exporting to a spreadsheet is putting some hidden character in the file that is causing the import system to see the file as "not identical" and therefore a new record. but if that were the case, i wouldn't be the only one experiencing this.
  
  i'm hoping that someone on the design team can test this <!-- s:idea: --><img src="{smilies_path}/icon_idea.gif" alt=":idea:" title="idea" /><!-- s:idea: --> , see what happens and report back. as i mentioned in my first post, i already have the instructions and have followed them to the letter dozens of times.
  
  can we get some hands-on testing type help here? please? <!-- s:? --><img src="{smilies_path}/icon_confused.gif" alt=":?" title="confused" /><!-- s:? -->
• Altstatten

  July 2009 Vote Up0Vote Down

  more info:
  
  1. if i include...
  -required fields
  -company name
  -plus any data field i changed
  
  ....i get a duplicate.
  
  2. if i include...
  -required fields
  -no company name field
  -plus any data field i changed
  
  ....i get an updated contact record with no company name in the field, and the record is now an orphan record no longer associated with the parent account.
  
  ???
• Altstatten

  July 2009 Vote Up0Vote Down

  more info:
  
  1. if i include...
  -required fields
  -company name
  -plus any data field i changed
  
  ....i get a duplicate.
  
  2. if i include...
  -required fields
  -no company name field
  -plus any data field i changed
  
  ....i get an updated contact record with no company name in the field, and the record is now an orphan record no longer associated with the parent account.
  
  ???
• natrown

  October 2009 Vote Up0Vote Down

  i get the same error here. i followed the instructions as posted above. in my oppinion the company entry is responsible for not finding duplicates. if i leave it out of the fields to be matched auto merging is working right.
  
  if i do not use auto merge and check manual merge the applications works properly with the company field checked as merge criteria. same selection and auto merge and no duplicate is found.
  
  i hope someone can help us.
• secondcrm

  October 2009 Vote Up0Vote Down

  yes there's some issue, i too facing duplicate records in accounts and contacts. in my case i just had single field [account name] and in contacts one custom field, but i got all the duplicate records imported. and by checking duplicates, its taking many extra hours to import, but in vain.
  
  regards,
• secondcrm

  October 2009 Vote Up0Vote Down

  and in both cases, it seems to work in the first batch [with lesser no of records], but once i was confident its okay, it duped me <!-- s:) --><img src="{smilies_path}/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" title="smile" /><!-- s:) -->
  
  regards,