Scan for Dupes

Overview

Operative’s Scan for Dupes feature helps you identify and merge duplicate contact records in your database. Duplicate records often occur when importing data from outside systems like ActBlue, where the same individual may appear multiple times with slightly different personal information.

By scanning for duplicates, you can quickly locate and merge duplicate contacts into a single, clean record, ensuring your data is accurate and your reporting is consistent.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Starting a Scan

1. Navigate to Contacts in the left-hand menu and click on either Person or Organization. 
2. In the top right corner of the white Contacts field, click Scan for Dupes (next to the Export button).
3. Choose your matching criteria from the following options:
   • External ID
   • Email
   • Name + Zip
   • Name + Zip + Email

Click Run Scan. Operative will search for contacts that contain identical data based on your selected matching criteria.

Reviewing Results

1. Operative will return groups of potential duplicates, displayed in a filtered contact list. Groups are indicated with a gray header showing the matching value (e.g., “Email: example@email.com”).
2. Within each group, you can compare key fields side by side:
   • Name
   • Email
   • Address
   • Occupation
   • Employer
   • External ID
   • Reporting readiness flags
3. To view more detail about a particular contact, click any field of the contact record to see the person or organization’s full profile and associated transactions.

Merging Duplicates

1. If you determine two or more records are duplicates, select the checkboxes on the left-hand side of each record.
2. A green bar will appear at the bottom of the screen, where you can either Merge, Archive, or Delete the records selected.
3. Click Merge to open the merge modal. The duplicate contact records will be presented side by side and you will have the option to merge one of the duplicate contact’s information into the other.
4. Follow the merge flow to choose which data to retain. (See Merge Records for more details).

Expected Results

• After merging, duplicates are combined into a single contact record.
• All transactions and associated data are preserved under the retained record.
• The duplicate records are archived, ensuring cleaner reporting going forward.

Recommended Workflow

• Run Scan for Dupes after importing large datasets (e.g., ActBlue data loads) to quickly clean up any overlapping contact records.
• Use multiple matching criteria (such as Email, Name + Zip) to catch different types of duplicates.
• Schedule regular duplicate scans as part of your ongoing data hygiene process.

Additional Notes

• The same contact matching options used during record imports are also available in the duplicate scan tool.
• You can re-run scans with different matching criteria to ensure all duplicates are reviewed and resolved.