[AppExchange – 123FormBuilder] Duplicate management when creating records

Duplicate records cause trouble for the business, as well as the admin. Clients may get angry if multiple sales reps contact them with the same purpose. At the same time, sales reps lose trust in the CRM and question the validity of the data they rely on. So what can you do to prevent duplicate records?


On Salesforce side

Use Matching and Duplicate rules. If you need more details about setting this up, you can always check this Trailhead article. Depending on how the Duplicate Management is configured, creating a duplicate record can be blocked altogether or it can be allowed to show an alert. To bypass this alert enable the option Override Duplicate Rules when creating/updating record from the mapping interface, under Record Preferences.

When choosing to block duplicate records from being created, the 123FormBuilder app will also throw an error and won’t create the record, if the form is set up to create a new record instead of updating an existing record.


On 123FormBuilder side

In the form builder app, in Salesforce Integration → Object Mapping, under Record preferences, make sure to choose the Update existing record option for Action to perform.

Salesforce action to perform

This setup allows adding a single criterion for identifying an existing record in Salesforce. But most times, the Matching and Duplicate rules created in Salesforce involve multiple criteria. For example: for Contact, one may use Last Name and Email or Date of birth.

This is why we recommend using the Record ID as a criterion for Updating existing record when setting up the Object Mapping.

Since your form visitors don’t know the Salesforce Record ID, here’s what you can do to identify it:

  • Create a lookup to identify the record and return it’s ID. Next, use prefill (URL or dynamic) to populate a hidden field on the form with the Record ID (this works for simple matching criteria, that use the AND operator).
  • Create a query to identify the record and return it’s ID. Use the ID in Object Mapping, instead of a form field.
Salesforce update record query

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Frequently Asked Questions

Here is a list of the most frequently asked questions. For more FAQs, please browse through the  FAQs page.

Is this service free?
Yes, we offer a free form builder service. Just sign up to the Basic plan and you are all set. This plan is forever free, but you are limited with a few features only, such as 5 forms per account, 100 submissions per month and you have to keep the backlink to 123FormBuilder on your forms. Check out our features matrix for more information.
How many forms can I create?
It depends on the service plan you are on. Higher service plans enable more features, including more web forms for your account. If you need more forms, go to the My Account section of your account and click the upgrade button. To create an unlimited number of forms, either upgrade to the Platinum service plan or higher. Consult our features matrix for more information.
How can I publish my forms?
You can publish your forms in many ways, by using their direct URL or HTML link, embedding them with a JavaScript code, Inline HTML or iFrame, using the Facebook app or the WordPress plugin, using popups, the Blogger code snippet and many more. Once you have created and customized your form, go to the Publish section to complete your work. Read more in our documentation.
How do I change my form design?
You can change the design of your form for more information. in the Themes section, which is located in your form settings. We offer a set of more than 30 predefined form themes for your forms, but you can also create your own from scratch. You can customize the submit button, the logo and more. To apply your own stylesheets, all forms come with a custom CSS editor.

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