When you start typing a new contact’s name, Rhythm compares what you entered with the people already in your account. If Rhythm finds possible matches, it shows them in the form before you finish the rest of the contact details.
This warning does not stop you from saving. You can open the existing person instead, or continue and create a new contact.
Why Rhythm Shows Other Contacts
Rhythm starts checking for possible matches when the name lookup field has enough information to compare. That happens after you enter:
- an email address that contains an
@, or - a first and last name.
For names, Rhythm uses a sound-alike comparison, so it can find close matches even when the spelling differs. This check runs only when you create a new contact; it does not run again when you edit an existing contact. The same warning also appears when you add a contact to an organization, so you can identify a matching existing contact there too.
If the email you type exactly matches an existing contact’s saved email, the form can show a message such as “Email information found” and fill in available details, such as the contact’s name, from that existing record.
Tip
Rhythm compares what you type with saved contact details. A contact imported in bulk and never opened since will not be found until someone opens and saves that record.
Warning
This suggestion never blocks a save. Separately, your account can use the Duplicate Email Prevention setting to block saves. When it is on, Rhythm refuses to create a new contact, or change an existing contact’s email, to an address already used by another contact, including a change that only updates the letter case of an existing email. Turning on that setting affects only future saves; it does not change contacts that are already duplicated. See Create or Edit a Contact for what you see when a save is refused this way.
What to Do When a Match Appears
- Review the suggested contact or contacts shown in the form.
- If one is clearly the same person, stop entering the new contact and open the existing record instead, so you do not create a duplicate.
- If none of them is the same person, continue filling in and saving the new contact as usual. The suggestion does not block the save.
Result
The check only shows possible matches; it does not save anything by itself. If you decide the person already exists, review the existing record’s own duplicate warning after you finish, in case Rhythm’s account-wide matching later confirms it as a likely duplicate too.
If Something Goes Wrong
| What you see | What it means and what to do |
|---|---|
| No suggestions appear even for a contact you know already exists | The check runs only after you enter enough of a name or a full email address, and it compares only with contacts whose details have been saved and indexed. A contact created moments ago, or one imported but never opened, may not be found yet. Missing or incomplete results do not prove the person is absent from Rhythm, so search for the person directly before you create a new contact. Creating one anyway is a common cause of duplicate records. |
| Name-based suggestions do not appear in the console even though the form's lookup component has name-based duplicate checking enabled | This has been reported in the console specifically. Rely on the email check instead, or review for duplicates after saving. |
| No suggestions appear on any contact-creation form | Possible duplicates appear only when duplicate detection is turned on for the lookup field on the form. If you expected suggestions on every create form, check that setting in the contact form’s configuration. |
| Suggestions take a moment to show up after you finish typing | The check is not instant. Give it a few seconds after entering a full email address or a first and last name before you decide nothing was found. |
| An email is flagged as a possible duplicate, but a normal contact search for that email finds nothing | This can happen when the matching record is partial or otherwise hard to find. Treat the duplicate warning as meaningful even if a regular search does not show the same record, and confirm with Support if you cannot locate it yourself. |
| A suggested contact turns out not to be a match | The check estimates a likely match from a name or email; it is not a guarantee. Continue creating the new contact as usual. |