A duplicate user account can be created inadvertently in which case to handle multiple accounts for the same end-user, it can requested to merge the accounts via a General Work Request submitted by the Administrator. However, before requesting that the accounts be merged, it is essential to understand how the data is handled when duplicate accounts are merged.
How user data is merged
When you merge one user account into another, the activity data owned by the merged account becomes the activity data of the user into whom the account was merged, as well as the data in the user's profile. The following table describes how user data is handled as a result of a merge. The user being merged is referred to as the source user and the target of the merge is referred to as the destination user.
| Utility | Data Type | Merge Results |
| Users & Security | Email address, username, account permissions and roles, as well as any unique user identifiers. | Destination user data remains intact. Source user data is lost. |
| Activities | Records saved within the activity screens. | All of the source user's activity data is merged to the destination user. Duplicate data is detected by the system by matching all fields on the screen, and if a record is identical, the system will not create a duplicate record. |
| Workflow | Submission history. | Destination user workflow data is not affected by merge. Source user data is lost. |
In general, workflow data for the source user is lost, which is why it is important to correctly identify which account should be the destination and which account should be the source before requesting that the duplicate accounts be merged.
Workflow data for the source user can be downloaded before the merge removes all the data. The data can be downloaded using the Submission Download functionality, or if there are more than 10 submissions for the source user, the administrator can first request a copy of each submission before submitting the request to merge the accounts. Once a copy of the submissions is received by the administrator, they can continue to request that the accounts be merged.
Getting Started
When ready to request that the duplicate accounts be merged, the General Work Request should include the following details.
- Account username of the source account.
- Account username of the destination account.