Merge Duplicate Contact Records in Connect for Outlook

When you create a contact record in Connect, the application checks for duplicate records. If a duplicate record is detected, you can merge the new record with the existing record, create a new contact while keeping the existing record intact, or cancel the record creation.

Prerequisites: Create a Contact in Connect for Outlook

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To merge duplicate contact records:

1. After you create a contact in Connect, Vantagepoint checks for duplicate records by first looking at the contact email address, then checking the first name or preferred name and the last name.
   • If no duplicates are found, the Add Contact form displays and Connect pre-fills with the new contact's information, including the contact name, the title from the signature, the phone number from the signature, and the firm, which is based on the email domain. For more information, see the Create a New Contact in Connect for Outlook help topic.
   • If there is at least one duplicate, Connect displays the contact details that you have entered so far, a notification of the number of duplicates in red, and a list of the duplicates.
2. Click Contact Details to review each duplicate record.
3. When you locate the duplicate contact record that matches the new record, take one of the following actions:
   • To merge the new contact record with the existing one, click Merge Contact Details. The edit screen displays and details from the new record overwrite details for the existing contact, with the changes highlighted. Connect merges all the relevant information and displays the updated contact record in the Contact pane.
   • To continue to create the new contact while keeping the existing contact record intact, click Continue to Add Contact. This is useful when more than one contact has the same name. For example, two John Smiths live in the same city, but have different addresses.
4. Click Save to save the contact information to Vantagepoint.