Deleting Duplicate Records

When you save a record, the system looks for duplicate records based on the data you entered in the name and address fields. If the system finds potential duplicate records, you can delete the duplicate records by following this procedure.

Note: You cannot delete duplicate records that are associated with an entity. For example, you cannot delete an account record that has a sales record associated with it.
  1. Create or edit a record.
    Note: Duplicate detection is only available when you edit an existing record or create a new record using the New button. It is not available when you create a record using the Create shortcut.
  2. Save the record.
    Important: If you are using Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 SP1, you must click Save in order for the system to look for duplicate records. If you click Save & Close, the system will not check for duplicate records.

    The system automatically looks for records that are potential duplicates of the record you are saving. If the system determines that the record you are saving may be a duplicate of another record, the Duplicate Detection and Merging window appears, listing the records that may be duplicates. The first record, the one with no value in the MatchScore column, is the record you are saving. The other records are duplicates. The MatchScore column indicates how similar the duplicate records are to the record you are saving. An identical record has a score of 100. The lower the number, the less closely the record matches the record you are saving.

  3. If the Duplicate Detection and Merging window appears and you want to delete a duplicate record, in the Action column of that record choose Delete.
    Note: The first record listed, which has no value in the Match Score column, is the new or edited record you saved.
  4. Click Submit.