Author Topic: civicrm_api('contact','create') - how to create only if not duplicate contact (Read 984 times)

tog22 · March 05, 2012, 04:35:27 am

I'm creating a contact through the API with the following code:

$params = array( 
  'first_name' => 'abc3',
  'last_name' => 'xyz3',
  'contact_type' => 'Individual',
  'email' => 'man3@yahoo.com',
  'version' => 3,
);
  $result = civicrm_api( 'contact','create',$params );

Each time I run this code a new contact is created with the same details. However, http://book.civicrm.org/user/working-with-your-data/deduping-and-merging says "Default strict rules are also automatically checked when new contacts are created through online registrations including events, membership, contributions, and profile pages, and when you create a contact through CiviCRM's programming API." And my CiviCRM install still has the default Individual-Strict dedupe rule which looks for matching email addresses. So this suggests that a new contact with the same email address should not be created the 2nd time I run the above code.

How can I create a contact through the API only if it doesn't match the email address of an existing contact?

Erik Hommel · March 07, 2012, 12:51:12 am

I believe the general principle of the API is: the API assumes you have checked your data. So there is not a lot of validation in the API. The aim is to keep the API flexible and robust. In my opinion this would mean that you have to develop a little wrapper function yourself that:

uses the API get to check if the contact already exists
only create the contact with the API if it does not

I do agree that if I am not corrected by some of my more knowledgeable community colleagues the text in the book needs to be updated!

Eileen · March 07, 2012, 02:29:28 am

Try setting

$params['dupe_check'] = TRUE ;

It's not tested / documented but I think it might work (it did once in v2 & I think it's from the BAO level not the v2 API)

tog22 · March 07, 2012, 03:11:56 am

Thanks,but $params['dupe_check'] = TRUE doesn't work in v3. I ended up checking manually though, as Erik suggested, since if the contact did exist I needed to add a contribution to it:

Code: [Select]

	$cp = array('email' => $email, 'version' =>3);
	$existing_contact = civicrm_api('Contact','Get',$cp);
	if(empty($existing_contact['values'])){
		// add a contribution to this contact
	}

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Author Topic: civicrm_api('contact','create') - how to create only if not duplicate contact (Read 984 times)

tog22

civicrm_api('contact','create') - how to create only if not duplicate contact

Erik Hommel

Re: civicrm_api('contact','create') - how to create only if not duplicate contact

Eileen

Re: civicrm_api('contact','create') - how to create only if not duplicate contact

tog22

Re: civicrm_api('contact','create') - how to create only if not duplicate contact