This article...
- Cautions that the content is exclusive to HL-managed sites.
- Explains the distinctions between the deactivate, delete, and remove options in Higher Logic.
- Details how deactivating a user account blocks access but preserves content, and allows reactivation.
- Describes deleting a user's personal data, which anonymizes their contributions but leaves the content intact.
- Discusses removing users from specific communities, which affects membership but not posted content.
IMPORTANT: If your community site is integrated with an external AMS/CRM database (i.e., AMS-managed), STOP!
Do not use the information in this article to manage your user records. The information in this article is intended for Super Admins of HL-managed community sites only.
To manage your integrations-based user records, see Deactivate, Delete, & Disable User Records.
Manage user accounts and data
As a Super Admin, you have a few options when it comes to managing user accounts and data. You can:
- Deactivate a user's account (refer to Deactivate a user account, below),
- Delete a user's personal data (refer to Delete a user's personal data, below), and/or
- Remove a user from the community (refer to Remove a user from the community, below).
You take these actions in different places and they have very different results. They are designed to be used independently but can be used together for more comprehensive user-management.
Deactivate a user account
Deactivating a user's account prevents the user from logging in to your site. It has no impact on any activities in your Community (such as discussion posts and library uploads) that the user had performed prior to being deactivated. A deactivated user can be reactivated, and their access will be restored.
NOTE: This action is independent of the other actions that are discussed in this article and can be done independently or in conjunction with them.
User accounts can be deactivated in three places.
Users > Enabled list
NOTE: The instructions below are included as a quick reference for this topic. This page and its options are fully documented in Manage Users.
- Navigate to Users > List. The page defaults to the Enabled list.
- Select a user record, click More, and then choose Deactivate.
The user record moves to the Deactivated list.
TIP: This can also be done "in bulk" by multi-selecting user records as described in Manage Users.
NOTE: On the Admin tab of user profile pages, there is a disable option (refer to User Profile page, below). This has the same affect as the Users List page deactivate option.
NOTE: You can reactivate user accounts with the Enable button on the Deactivated list page.
NOTE: The Delete option in the More dropdown menu takes you to the Manage Compliance page where you can delete a user's identifying information. Refer to Delete a user's personal data, below, for information about this option.
Users > Deactivated list
NOTE: The instructions below are included as a quick reference for this topic. This page and its options are fully documented in Manage Users.
To deactivate user records:
- Navigate to Users > List.
- Click the dropdown to the right of the page title and choose Deactivated.
- Click the plus symbol (+) to the right of the page title.
- Click into the Select… field and choose one or several user records to deactivate.
- Specify the reason for the deactivation.
- Click Deactivate.
TIP: You can select a user and click Enable to reactivate that user's account. This can be done "in bulk," too, by multi-selecting (a maximum of 25) user records.
NOTE: The Delete button at the top right takes you to the Manage Compliance page where you can delete a user's identifying information. Refer to Delete a user's personal data, below, for information about this option.
User Profile page
- Navigate to a user's profile and click the Admin tab.
- Click the DISABLE THIS ACCOUNT button.
NOTE: On the Admin tab of user profile pages, there is a disable option (refer to User Profile page, below). This has the same affect as the Users List page deactivate option.
NOTE: The button is automatically relabeled as ENABLE THIS ACCOUNT. You can return here and click it to reactivate the user's account (or use the steps in the previous section).
Delete a user's personal data
Super Admins can delete a user's identifying information from all of their posted content; the content remains in place and intact, but it is "anonymized."
NOTE: This action is independent of the other actions that are discussed in this article and can be done independently or in conjunction with them.
Manage Compliance page
NOTE: The instructions below are included as a quick reference for this topic. This page and its options are fully documented in Compliance, Activity Requests, and Data Deletion.
- Navigate to Settings > Security > Compliance.
- Search for a user.
- In the results list, click the down arrow on the dropdown for the intended user and choose Delete Individual Data.
- On the Delete Individual Data page, click Delete Individual Data and, in the confirmation dialog, click Delete to permanently delete the user's personal data from their contributions.
The user's personal information is permanently removed from all of their contributions across your site. In the image above, the content will remain in the discussions, but readers can no longer see who created the content.
You can also access this page from the Users List page:
- Enabled list - Select a user, click More, and then choose Delete.
- Deactivated list - Select a user and then click the Delete button.
Both of these actions open the Manage Compliance page in a new tab.
Remove a user from the community
Super Admins can remove a user from a community for any number of reasons. The remove action:
- Is specific to the community in which the action was taken.
- Removes the user from the community, but does not affect any of their posted content; the content remains in place and intact.
NOTE: This action is independent of the other actions that are discussed in this article and can be done independently or in conjunction with them.
Manage Community Members page
NOTE: The instructions below are included as a quick reference for this topic. This page and its options are fully documented in Manage Community Members.
- On the community page, click Settings to access the Settings menu.
- Click Members to access the Manage Community Members page.
- Locate the intended member record, click the down arrow next to Edit Roles, and choose Remove.
- At the confirmation prompt, click Yes - Remove.
The user is immediately removed from the community.