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Question

Microsoft Outlook update found contact, create if not found.

  • 21 October 2020
  • 8 replies
  • 127 views
I
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

Hello, I’m trying to figure out a solution to my issue. I have a cognito form that collects a lot of information. I use Microsoft Outlook for contacts. What I have set up is that Outlook searches for the contact by email. If it finds the contact, nothing happens, if the contact is not found one is created. What I want is to have the contact updated if it is found, and created if it is not. I see that update contact is one of the actions, I’m just unsure if a new contact will be created if the update action searches and doesn’t find a contact. I thought paths may work but I couldn’t seem to figure out how to trigger a path based on whether a contact was found or not (using the action “search contacts” in outlook). Thanks for any suggestions!

This post has been closed for comments. Please create a new post if you need help or have a question about this topic.

8 replies

Troy Tessalone
Userlevel 7
Badge +14

Zap

  1. Trigger: Cognito Forms - Form Submission
  2. Action: Outlook - Find/Create Contact
  3. Action: Outlook - Update Contact
⚡ Troy Tessalone - AutomationAce.com | Premier Certified Zapier Expert | #1 Zapier Community Contributor
I
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

Thanks Troy, I was wondering if I could do that but don’t want any duplicates so thought I’d ask first. It appears to be working, thanks for the quick response.

I
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

Just a quick addition, the first zap that went through hit an error updating info. On my second action: update contact there is a field that says “contact.” I assumed I should grab the ID from the previous step that found the contact. The ID listed matches the ID from the previous step. I’ve attached a screenshot of the task. FYI I decided to move our company’s contacts to google contacts, too many issues with Outlook. Thanks!

 

Troy Tessalone
Userlevel 7
Badge +14

In Google Contacts, make sure to use the Original ID in the Update Contact step, which is different than the ID of the Contact.

 

⚡ Troy Tessalone - AutomationAce.com | Premier Certified Zapier Expert | #1 Zapier Community Contributor
I
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

Thanks Troy. I changed the update contact step to “original ID” and tested. It created an entirely new contact for some reason.

Troy Tessalone
Userlevel 7
Badge +14

Did step 2 Find/Create Contact create the new Contact, because step 3 Update Contact wouldn’t do that.

⚡ Troy Tessalone - AutomationAce.com | Premier Certified Zapier Expert | #1 Zapier Community Contributor
I
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

I just realized the original contact only had a phone so it didn’t recognize it. All good, thanks!

I
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

I just got notice that my zap was turned off because it keeps failing. To remind you, form submission>search for or create google contact>update google contact. It seems to error every time on the final update contact step with the error “requested entity was not found.” I have used the original ID data piece as you suggested. Is this more of a paths thing? Not sure why I keep getting these errors. Thanks!

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