An administrator at Horizon Health builds and activates a custom Matching Rule on the Lead object using exact match logic on Mobile Phone and fuzzy match logic on First Name. However, users report that when manually creating new leads with matching phone numbers and names, the system allows the records to be saved without showing any alert or duplicate warning. What is the most likely reason for this behavior?
- The matching rule was activated, but no active duplicate rule has been configured to execute alert or block actions when matches are found.Answer
- BCustom matching rules on standard objects require an Apex trigger to execute user-facing duplicate warnings.
- CMatching rules automatically merge duplicate records upon save, bypassing the duplicate alert dialog in the user interface.
- DFuzzy matching logic is supported only when importing records via bulk API tools, not during manual single-record creation.
Answer
The matching rule was activated, but no active duplicate rule has been configured to execute alert or block actions when matches are found.
In Salesforce Duplicate Management, matching rules only define the criteria used to search for potential duplicate records. To present an alert or block record creation, an administrator must create and activate a Duplicate Rule that references the Matching Rule and defines the enforcement action (such as Alert or Block).
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Separation of Matching Rules (criteria definition) and Duplicate Rules (action execution)