The Merge Contacts tool enables a Super Admin to consolidate duplicate or superseded contact records into a single active record, transferring any content from the record being deactivated to the one being kept. It also reassociates the correct Integration Key to ensure the right contact is used for SSO and data sync, and it anonymizes and disables the deactivated record as part of the process.

IMPORTANT: This tool is available to integrated customers only.

Usage scenarios

Super Admins typically use this tool to resolve identity and content continuity issues that arise in integrated environments:

• A contact’s Integration Key changes in the external system, causing a brand-new contact record to be created in Higher Logic. Because the Integration Key drives SSO and integration mapping, the user starts logging into the new, empty record (default settings, missing content), while their original record (with their history, preferences, and non-integrated memberships) becomes inaccessible. Use this tool to reassociate the new Integration Key to the original record and transfer any content the user created under the new record.
• A user leaves the organization, but their content should remain accessible under the successor’s account. Use this tool to move the departing user’s content to the successor’s record and then disable and anonymize the departing user’s record.
• Company records require consolidation. The tool can merge company records in the same way it merges contact records, with an added step to re-associate any linked contacts from the deleted company to the active company record.

Example usage scenarios

Scenario A: Integration Key changed; new duplicate record created

A contact’s Integration Key changes in the external system (e.g., from 1001 to 1002), which creates a new Higher Logic record. The user logs into the new record via SSO and finds missing content and default settings.

Example details

• Original record (keep): Contact Key = DE3C7ED5-0FF3-44FD-868F-F3E6990990CA; Integration Key = 1001
• New record (delete): Contact Key = 79718A57-3249-4D86-ADDA-9178787784E6; Integration Key = 1002

Run the tool with

1. Contact Key to delete: 79718A57-3249-4D86-ADDA-9178787784E6
2. Contact Key to keep: DE3C7ED5-0FF3-44FD-868F-F3E6990990CA
3. Integration Key to assign to the kept contact: 1002

What the tool does

• Assigns Integration Key 1002 to the kept record.
• Assigns the obsolete Integration Key 1001 to the record being deleted.
• Transfers any content created under the record being deleted to the kept record.
• Anonymizes the data of the deleted record to support potential future GDPR deletion requests.
• Disables the deleted record.
• Refreshes the correct Integration Key via the integration to ensure the active record’s integrated data is up to date.

TIP: This resolves the “wrong account after SSO” problem by re-aligning the user’s external identity with their original Higher Logic record and consolidating any content created under the duplicate.

Scenario B: Departing user; transfer content to successor

A departing user’s content should remain accessible under a successor’s account. The successor’s record already has the correct Integration Key and should retain it.

Example details

• Departing user (delete): Contact Key = AED31CB8-C52A-4CC6-A273-D45097DBC19E; Integration Key = 2200
• Successor (keep): Contact Key = 5D5866B7-4A12-4B5E-9CE8-38D381EC74AD; Integration Key = 3300

Run the tool with

1. Contact Key to delete: AED31CB8-C52A-4CC6-A273-D45097DBC19E
2. Contact Key to keep: 5D5866B7-4A12-4B5E-9CE8-38D381EC74AD
3. Integration Key to assign to the kept contact: 3300

IMPORTANT: The purpose here is content transfer and record disablement—not changing the successor’s Integration Key. Entering the departing user’s Integration Key would sync their external data into the successor’s record and overwrite the successor’s correct integrated data.

What the tool does

• Transfers the departing user’s content to the successor’s record.
• Anonymizes the departing user’s Higher Logic contact data.
• Disables the departing user’s record.
• Refreshes the Integration Key on the kept record as part of the process; this has no adverse effect as long as the correct Integration Key is provided.

Company records: merging organizations

The tool works the same way for company records, with one additional step:

• After assigning the correct Integration Key and transferring content, the tool re-associates any contact records linked to the company being deleted so that they now reference the active company record being kept.

NOTE: As with contact merges, ensure you specify the correct Integration Key for the company record being kept.

Access the Merge Contacts tool

1. In the Admin Toolbar, click Admin.

2. Navigate to Users > Tools > Merge Contacts.

Mergeable content types

Before using this tool, make sure you understand what types of content can be merged from one user to another.

How to merge contacts

Let's walk through the steps necessary to merge two contact records.

Step 1: Gather required identifiers

For this step, you need to gather the:

• Contact Key of the record to delete/deactivate.
• Contact Key of the record to keep active.
• Integration Key to assign to the contact being kept (i.e., the correct, current Integration Key from your external system).

IMPORTANT: In “departing user” scenarios, do not overwrite the successor’s correct Integration Key with the departing user’s Integration Key.

Gather the Contact Keys

1. In your community, navigate to the user profile for each user and click the Admin tab.
2. Copy/paste each of their Contact Keys in a Notepad file (or similar). You will need to enter these keys during the next step.

Gather the Integration Key

1. Similarly, navigate to the profile > Admin tab of the user you want to keep.
2. Copy/paste their Integration Key in a Notepad file (or similar). You will need to enter this key during the next step.

NOTE: You can also locate the Integration Key by navigating to Admin > Users > List and clicking the user; the Integration Key is displayed in the expanded panel.

Step 2: Enter the identifiers in the Merge Tool

On the Users > Tools > Merge Contacts page:

1. In the Delete this Contact field, paste in the Contact Key of the user you're deleting.
2. In the Keep this Contact field, paste in the Contact Key of the user you're keeping.
3. In the Integration Key field, paste in the Integration Key of the user you're keeping.
4. Once these identifiers are entered, the Next button becomes active. Click Next.

5. The system looks up the users based on your identifiers; if found, their information is displayed as shown in the image below. If everything looks correct, click Merge Contacts to continue.

6. In the confirmation dialog, click Merge Contacts to finalize the process.

What happens next

• The Integration Key you entered is assigned to the record being kept (persisting record).
• The obsolete Integration Key is assigned to the record being deleted (so its identity is no longer used for SSO/integration).
• All content created under the record being deleted is transferred to the record being kept.
• The record being deleted is anonymized to support potential future GDPR deletion requests.
• The record being deleted is disabled so it can no longer be used.
• The integration refresh runs to ensure the active record’s integrated data is up to date.