---
schema_version: "1"
id: c6dc6060e97ad96a81fd4a3931d8a72f1fa3501e566ea0e5a04730d28679d9f6
title: Configure Duplicate Detection and NPSP Contact Merge
collection: admin
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/sfdo/264-0-0/configure_duplicate_detection_and_npsp_contact_merge.md
canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sfdo.configure_duplicate_detection_and_npsp_contact_merge.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5
source_site: help.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: 9f9f48ba9afd8c4bfb5f64958acb9ed7714fdea1c2b4dd1238d8a580083d3035
description: Set up duplicate detection and contact merge to keep your contacts organized and up-to-date.
products:
  - Nonprofit
release: "264"
---
# Configure Duplicate Detection and NPSP Contact Merge

Set up duplicate detection and contact merge to keep your contacts organized and up-to-date.

![Important](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-sfdo-nonprofit_success_pack-264-0-0-production-enus/bd2879e2-2bdc-4012-aa32-dc0c697c4538/images/icon_important.png)

Important Grant NPSP Contact Merge tab access to your users' profiles or permission sets. They can't use NPSP Contact Merge without access to the tab.

- **[Set Up Duplicate Detection](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sfdo.configure_duplicate_detection_and_npsp_contact_merge.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    Set up duplicate detection with matching rules to identify duplicate contacts.
- **[Set Up NPSP Duplicate Rule Settings](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sfdo.configure_duplicate_detection_and_npsp_contact_merge.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    Set up duplicate rules to find duplicate contacts before any potential duplicates are created.
- **[Customize Contact Merge Columns](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sfdo.configure_duplicate_detection_and_npsp_contact_merge.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    Customize the columns that appear in the Contact Merge search results.
- **[Set Up NPSP Potential Duplicates Pane on Contacts Page](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sfdo.configure_duplicate_detection_and_npsp_contact_merge.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    To quickly see if a contact has potential duplicates and to resolve those duplicates, set up the NPSP Potential Duplicates component on the Contacts page.

## Set Up Duplicate Detection

Set up duplicate detection with matching rules to identify duplicate contacts.

![Important](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-sfdo-nonprofit_success_pack-264-0-0-production-enus/bd2879e2-2bdc-4012-aa32-dc0c697c4538/images/icon_important.png)

Important The out-of-box Salesforce Duplicate Rules are set up to match Contacts with Leads. This causes issues in NPSP Contact Merge. We recommend that you deactivate the Duplicate Rule Standard Rule for Contacts with Duplicate Leads or set up your own rules as described in the following sections.

### Set Up Matching Rules

Matching Rules tell Salesforce how to look for duplicate Contacts. A Matching Rule compares field values to determine if a record is similar enough to another record to be considered a duplicate.

1. Click ![Setup](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-sfdo-nonprofit_success_pack-264-0-0-production-enus/bd2879e2-2bdc-4012-aa32-dc0c697c4538/resources-product/images/setup.png), then click **Setup**.
2. From Setup, enter Matching Rules in the Quick Find box, then click **Matching Rules**.
3. Click **New Rule**.
4. For Object, select **Contact**, then click **Next**.
5. Give the rule a name and an optional description.
6. Select the fields to compare, and the matching methods.
7. Click **Save**.
8. Click **Activate**.
9. Continue to the next section to create a Duplicate Rule.

For more information, see [Customize Matching Rules](https://help.salesforce.com/articleview?id=matching_rules_create.htm&type=5) in Salesforce Help.

### Set Up Duplicate Rules

Duplicate Rules tell Salesforce what to do when it finds potential duplicates as users create new Contacts. To see duplicates on the Contact Merge tab, Duplicate Rules must have both Action on Create and Action on Edit set to **Allow** and **Report**.

1. Click ![Setup](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-sfdo-nonprofit_success_pack-264-0-0-production-enus/bd2879e2-2bdc-4012-aa32-dc0c697c4538/resources-product/images/setup.png), then click **Setup**.
2. From Setup, enter Duplicate Rules in the Quick Find box, then click **Duplicate Rules**.
3. Click **New Rule**, then select **Contact**.
4. Give the rule a name.
5. Next to **Action on Create**, select **Allow** and **Report**.
6. Next to **Action on Edit,** select **Allow** and **Report**.
7. Under Matching Rules:
    
    1. Select Compare Contacts With **Contacts**.
    2. Select the Matching Rule you created.
8. Optionally add additional conditions.
9. Click **Save**.
10. If you have Unlimited Edition or Salesforce.org Insights Platform Data Integrity, continue to the next section.

For more information, including considerations for managing multiple Duplicate Rules, see [Duplicate Rules](https://help.salesforce.com/articleview?id=duplicate_rules_map_of_reference.htm&type=5) in Salesforce Help.

## Set Up NPSP Duplicate Rule Settings

Set up duplicate rules to find duplicate contacts before any potential duplicates are created.

Before using Contact Merge, complete this one-time setup task. If you want to use Duplicate Rules for finding duplicates it's necessary to set this up before any potential duplicates are created. If you have custom code with the AllowSave property set to a value, that value takes precedence over this setting.

1. Click the **NPSP Settings** tab. If you don't see the tab, find it in the App Launcher (![App Launcher icon](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-sfdo-nonprofit_success_pack-264-0-0-production-enus/bd2879e2-2bdc-4012-aa32-dc0c697c4538/resources-product/images/app_launcher_icon.png)).
2. Click **System Tools**, then **Error Notifications**.
3. Click **Edit**.
4. Select **Respect Duplicate Rule Settings**.
5. Click **Save**.

## Customize Contact Merge Columns

Customize the columns that appear in the Contact Merge search results.

1. Click ![Setup](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-sfdo-nonprofit_success_pack-264-0-0-production-enus/bd2879e2-2bdc-4012-aa32-dc0c697c4538/resources-product/images/setup.png), then click **Setup**.
2. Go to **Object Manager** and enter Contact in the Quick Find box.
3. Click **Field Sets**.
4. Click on the **Contact Merge Found** field set.
5. Click and drag to modify the fields shown and the order shown.
6. Save your work.

## Set Up NPSP Potential Duplicates Pane on Contacts Page

To quickly see if a contact has potential duplicates and to resolve those duplicates, set up the NPSP Potential Duplicates component on the Contacts page.

1. From a Contact page, click ![Setup Gear icon](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-sfdo-nonprofit_success_pack-264-0-0-production-enus/bd2879e2-2bdc-4012-aa32-dc0c697c4538/resources-product/images/setup_gear_icon.png) and select **Edit Page**.
2. If the Potential Duplicates component is on the page layout, delete it.
3. From the Custom - Managed component list, drag the NPSP Potential Duplicates component to the page layout.
4. Clear the checkboxes if you don't want to show the number of potential duplicates in the page card or in the toast message.
    
    These options are selected by default
5. Save and activate your changes.