Avoiding duplicates during importing custom object data

QUESTION

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How do you update custom object data through Imports without creating duplicates?

ANSWER

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De duping works differently for Custom Objects.  Because all custom objects are child objects of Contact object it is mandatory to include unique identifier for every contact. This is achieved through out of the box de duping rules that set in Admin section under "Registration Management". However, the rules are not available for Custom Objects. Also, during the import there is no option to select a custom deduplication rule. The de duping is automatically done based on the "Primary Key" of the Custom object record which is set during the initial set up of the object. Hence it is very