Duplicate search is performed with the help of a set of rules. By default, bpm’online includes out-of-the-box duplicate search rules for the [Accounts], [Contacts], [Leads] sections.
Note
All pre-configured rules are described in the “Pre-configured duplicate search rules for contacts and accounts” article (version 7.12.0).
You can perform the following actions in bpm’online:
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create new duplicate search rules based on a text or a lookup field in any section
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enable or disable individual rules
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specify which rules will be used while saving a record
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remove unused rules
Note
Default rules designed to search for contact and account duplicates in leads cannot be deleted. The process of disabling these rules is described in more detail in the “How to disable a duplicate search rule” article.
How to create a new duplicate search rule
1.Open the system designer by clicking the 
button in the top right corner of the application window.
2.Open the [Setup duplicates rules] link.
3.Click the [New rule] button.
4.Set up the rule (Fig. 1):
a.In the [Type] field, select a section which will use this rule, e.g., “Products”. You can create a rule for a section if the [Indexing for full-text search] checkbox is selected in its properties.
b.Click 
on the [Attributes] detail and add a column (or multiple columns) that will used to search for duplicates. Please note that the [Attributes] detail can only store text and lookup fields.
If you select multiple attributes, e.g., “Code” and “Name”, the duplicate search is performed via the “AND” operator, i.e., bpm’online will look for records in which both the code and the name are duplicated. When creating several rules with only one attribute, e.g., if the first rule contains only the “Code” attribute and the second one contains the “Name” attribute, then the duplicate search is performed via the “OR” operator, i.e., displays records in which either the code or the name are duplicated.
c.Select the [Active] checkbox.
d.Select the [Use this rule on save] checkbox to use this rule while saving the record.
Fig. 1 Creating a new duplicate search rule
5.Save the changes.
Bpm’online will display a message prompting the user to log in to the system again. As a result, duplicate search will be performed according to the created rule, and the action [Show duplicates] will appear in the corresponding section.
How to disable a duplicate search rule
You can deactivate a rule (permanently or temporarily) and it will not be used to search for duplicates. To do this:
1.Open the system designer by clicking the 
button in the top right corner of the application window.
2.Open the [Setup duplicates rules] link.
3.Select a rule in the list and click [Open].
4.Remove the [Active] checkbox.
5.Save the changes.
As a result, the rule will not be used to search for duplicates. You can re-activate it anytime.
See also
•How to set up a schedule for an automatic general duplicate search
