# Set Up Advanced Master Deciding Rule This feature empowers System Administrators to define Master Deciding Rules for a given entity within the Master Deciding Rule entity. Administrators can create one or more rules that determine how master records should be selected when handling duplicate records. By specifying criteria such as data fields and conditions, System Administrators gain precise control over which record qualifies as the master, ensuring data consistency, accuracy, and streamlined record management throughout the system. To configure the master deciding criteria, follow the steps below: * Go to **Entity Configuration.** * Navigate to **Merge Settings.** * Drill down to **Active Master Deciding Rules** and click on **New Master Deciding Rule.**
The System Administrator can create one or multiple master selection rules for an entity (e.g., Contact, Account, Custom entity, etc.) Fill in the details below: **Rule Name:** Enter rule name for easy identification **Rule Type:** Select One of the Rule Types. Each rule must have a type that can be selected from a predefined list, such as: * **Criteria-Based:** Use when you want the master record to be decided based on specific field values, like email or phone. Best for industry-specific criteria. * **Latest Modified:** Ideal for businesses where the most recently updated data is considered accurate and relevant. * **Oldest Modified:** Useful when older records are more reliable (e.g., legacy systems or historical data). * **Latest Created:** Best when new records typically hold the latest, most accurate data. * **Oldest Created:** Suitable for scenarios where the original record is always treated as the master. * **Most Field Values:** Recommended for retaining the record with the maximum information completeness. * **Most Activities:** Useful when you want the master to be the record with the most engagement history (calls, emails, notes). * **Latest Interaction:** Prioritize the record that had the most recent interaction with a customer. * **Score:** Score range is 1-100. If the admin thinks that the master deciding rule is important, then a higher score is set for the rule, increasing the weightage of the rule during master selection. Now click on Save and Close. For example,\ \ In the account entity configuration, administrators can define **Master Deciding Rules under the Merge Settings tab** to determine which record should be retained as the master during duplicate record merging. The image illustrates the creation of a new Master Deciding Rule named **Email Contains Rule**, where the administrator selects **Latest Modified** as the rule type, sets the score to *80*, and applies it to the account entity. Available rule types include options like *Criteria Based*, *Latest Modified*, *Oldest Modified*, *Most Field Values*, and more, providing flexibility for different business scenarios.
The created rules will be listed as below:
Similarly, Admin can create multiple rules as given below: The image displays the list of active rules, such as: * Email Contains Rule (Criteria Based) with a score of *50* * Latest Modified Master Rule with a score of *80* * Most Field Master Rule with a score of 3*0* * Phone Contains Data Rule with a score of *70* Each rule type specifies the logic used to evaluate duplicates, while the score determines the rule's priority in the merge decision process—the higher the score, the greater the weight of that rule.
How Scores and Rules Work During Auto-Merge During the merging process in DeDupeD, all active Master Deciding Rules are evaluated based on their assigned scores. The rule with the highest cumulative score determines the primary record that will be retained as the master, ensuring that the most relevant and complete record is preserved. Example:\ If two duplicate records exist and the following rules are active: * Latest Modified Master Rule (Score: 80) * Most Field Master Rule (Score: 70) * Email Contains Rule (Score: 50) The system checks which record satisfies these rules. If Record A is the latest modified and also has the most filled fields, it gains 80 + 70 = 150 points. If Record B only satisfies the email condition, it gets 50 points. In this case, Record A becomes the master record because it has the highest cumulative score.

{% hint style="info" %} **Note:** The Admin can view all created master selection rules for a specific entity. The system provides an option to edit each rule (e.g., changing the type or the weight/score The system saves the changes made to a rule after editing and saving The system ensures that the existing records are evaluated according to the updated rules after they are edited {% endhint %} **Suggested Master on UI** Automatically identify and highlight the ideal Master Record during the merge process with intelligent Master Deciding Rules. This feature analyzes duplicate records and suggests the most suitable record as the default master in the Merge UI. Users can configure whether to follow the rule-based suggestion or retain the current record as the master using a simple Yes/No toggle — * Yes: Apply Master Deciding Rules to auto-select the suggested master. * No: Retain the current (initiating) record as the master. Empower users to merge smarter with guided, rule-based master selection directly within the interface.
**Latest interaction** The **Interaction Configuration** feature in **DeDupeD** allows users to decide the Master Record intelligently during duplicate merges based on the **latest interactions** within or across related entities such as **Orders, Invoices, Emails, or Cases**.\ This ensures that the record with the **most recent customer activity** is automatically chosen as the Master, making data merging smarter and more context-aware. The Latest Interaction rule type uses related entities’ activities to determine which duplicate record should be selected as the Master Record. **Steps to Configure:** 1. Navigate to Master Deciding Rules and click **+ New** to create a new rule. 2. In the **Rule Type** dropdown, select **Latest Interaction** — this activates the *Interaction Configuration* section. 3. Click **+ New Interaction Configuration** and fill in the following fields:
FieldDescription
NameEnter a descriptive name for easy identification.
Master Deciding RuleThis field is auto-populated based on the rule you’re configuring.
Self-Entity InteractionTurn ON if you want to consider interactions within the same entity (e.g., Account Modified On).
Related Entity RelationshipsSelect related entities (e.g., Case, Order, Invoice, Email) whose interactions should be evaluated.
Interaction Event DateChoose the relevant date field (e.g., Created On, Modified On) to identify the latest interaction.
**Example: Related Entity Interaction** * Two duplicate Accounts are found: *Account A* and *Account B*. * *Account A* has a related Case A created at 4:30 PM. * *Account B* has a related Case B created at 6:00 PM.\ ➡️ Since Case B was created later, Account B will be automatically selected as the Master Record. **Self-Entity Interaction** The Self-Entity Interaction feature allows the system to evaluate the entity’s own activity (instead of related entities) when deciding which record should be the Master.\ This is particularly useful when recent changes within the record itself represent higher relevance or priority. How It Works: * **Enable** the **Self-Entity Interaction toggle** when creating the Interaction Configuration. * Select the **Interaction Event Date** (e.g., Created On, Modified On). * During duplicate detection, the system compares the selected date field across all duplicate records and automatically selects the record with the most recent activity as the Master.
**Example: Self-Entity Interaction** * Two duplicate Accounts are detected: *Account A* and *Account B*. * *Account A* was last Modified On: 10:00 AM. * *Account B* was last Modified On: 8:00 AM.\ ➡️ Since Account A has the latest modification timestamp, it will be selected as the Master Record. {% hint style="success" %} For further queries, reach out to us at {% endhint %}