Field Merge Criteria

The Field Merge feature tailors merge options according to the data type of the selected columns/fields. The "Most Frequent Value" option is available for all data types, while additional options appear based on field type: numeric or money fields offer "Add Up," string fields provide "Append," and Multi-OptionSet fields allow "Join."

Follow the steps below to define field merge criteria in your CRM:

Navigate to DeDupeD App -> Entity Configuration and select your desired Entity Configuration Record, and then go to “Merge Settings” tab and click on “+ New Field Merge Criteria”.

This will open up a ‘Field Merge Criteria’ quick create form, where we need to fill in the following details:
- Entity Configuration: This field gets auto-populated based on the entity selected during entity configuration.
- Column: Here you can select your desired field on which you want to apply field merge criteria.

Merge Type: Here you can select from four different field merging criteria (Append, Join, Add Up, and Most Frequent Value) based on which your subordinate record’s field values will be merged into master record:

Append: This criterion merges all the values from the master and subordinates’ records with a separator of user’s choice and sets it in the master record. This will be supported for all the text data type fields only. Example: Suppose you have a master lead record and several subordinate lead records that have different product interests. You want to combine all the product interests from these related records into one field in the master lead record, separated by a colon or any separator of your choice.

Fill in the below details to configure the Append field merge criterion:
- Column: Select your desired text field, here we have selected the “Interested in Product” field.
- Merge Type: Select “Append” merge criterion.
- Separator: Add a separator, here we have added a colon “:”.
- Click “Save and Close”.

Now Append field merge criterion is successfully configured.

Join: This criterion merges all the values from master and subordinate records and sets the merged value in the master record. This criterion is only supported for the Multi select option set data types field. Example: Suppose you have duplicate lead records for the same prospect in your CRM, each with different selections in the Contact Preferences multi-select option set field. You want to combine all the selected Contact Preferences from these records into a single field in the master lead record. By using the Join merging criterion, you can consolidate all the selected interests into one comprehensive list, ensuring that no options are lost during the merge.

Fill in the below details to configure the Join field merge criterion:
- Column: Select your desired text field, here we have selected the “Contact Preferences” field.
- Merge Type: Select “Join” merge criterion.
- Click “Save and Close”.

Now Join field merge criterion is successfully added.

Add Up: This criterion gets the sum of all the values in the fields of subordinates and master record and sets it in the master record. This criterion is only supported for the numeric data type fields. Example: You have duplicate lead records for the same prospect in your CRM, each containing different budget values in the “Budget” field based on their product interests. Using the Add Up merging criterion, you can automatically sum these values into a single comprehensive total, which is then stored in the master lead record for a complete and accurate representation.

Fill in the below details to configure the Join field merge criterion:
- Column: Select your desired text field, here we have selected the “Budget” field.
- Merge Type: Select “Add Up” merge criterion.
- Click “Save and Close”.

Now the Add Up field merge criterion is successfully added.

Most Frequent Value: This criterion takes the most common value among the master and subordinate records and sets it in the master record. This criterion is supported for all the data type fields. Example: Suppose your CRM has duplicate lead records for the same prospect, all with the same company name in the Company Name field. You want to merge these duplicate records into one clean, unified record. Using the Most Frequent Value merging option, you can ensure the company name that appears most often is kept in the final record, making your data more organized and accurate.

Fill in the below details to configure the Join field merge criterion:
Column: Select your desired text field, here we have selected the “Company Name” field.
Merge Type: Select “Most Frequent Value” merge criterion.
Click “Save and Close”.

Now the Most Frequent Value field merge criterion is successfully added.

To see the result of these configurations, click here.

Retain Additional Values:

The Retain Additional Values feature in DeDupeD ensures that no valuable data is lost during the duplicate merge process. When duplicate records contain conflicting information in key fields, this feature captures the non-selected values and stores them in custom fields.

This structured approach allows users to:

Maintain data integrity.
Keep a complete history of all conflicting values.
Improve post-merge traceability and auditing.

Custom fields can be created to store these additional values, such as “Additional Phone Numbers,” “Additional Addresses,” or “Additional Surnames.”

Objective is to automatically capture and retain all differing values from duplicate records during merges, ensuring that users can:

Review all historical and conflicting data.
Preserve field-level clarity.
Avoid accidental data loss during consolidation.

Supported Merge Types

Most frequent values
Add-up numeric values

Note: Multiselect fields must be created for customization to store multiple conflicting values.

Steps to Configure and Use Retain Additional Values

Step 1: Navigate to Merge Settings

Open DeDupeD and go to Entity Configuration for the desired entity (e.g., Account).
Click the Merge Settings tab.

Step 2: Select the Column to Retain Values

In the Field Merge Criteria section, click + New Field Merge Criteria.
Choose the column you want to retain additional values for (e.g., Address 1: City).

Step 3: Select Merge Type

In the Merge Type dropdown, select the merge strategy (e.g., Most Frequent Value).

Step 4: Enable Retain Additional Values

In the Retain Additional Values dropdown, select the desired option (e.g., Retain Field Values).
Specify a separator if needed (e.g., comma ,) to separate multiple values.

Step 5: Save Configuration

Click Save & Close to apply the field merge settings.

Step 6: Merge Duplicate Records

When duplicates are detected and merged, the master record is selected based on the merge type.
Non-selected values from the duplicate records are automatically stored in the custom field (e.g., Retain Field Values) for review.

Example:

Scenario: Duplicate Account records with conflicting City values: