Duplicate profiles in Constituent Manager usually arise when constituents are added both manually and through a data integration sync, or when a duplicate exists in the source data. This article covers three scenarios and their solutions, including deleting, merging, and fixing at the source.
💡Quick answers
- How do you tell if a profile was added manually vs. by integration? On the Profile tab > System Information section: manually added profiles show "Finalsite System Default" as Constituent Origin and an ID starting with "fs_####".
- What are the two solutions when both manual entry and a sync created the same person? Delete the manually-created profile if it has no Admin login, or merge the two by copying the integration's importID into the manually-created profile.
- Before deleting a duplicate profile, what should you check? Open the Account tab to confirm whether the profile is connected to an Admin User Account; never delete the admin-linked profile.
- Duplicate profiles appearing from a third-party integration? The duplicate likely exists in the source data; fix it within the integration software and the next sync will resolve it in Constituent Manager.
- Is it possible to resolve a duplicate in the Public User role? Yes; delete the duplicate Public User profile to free up the username for use with the preferred profile.
Constituent Manager is the module that houses and organizes your people data into roles and groups. When adding data, you may find duplicate information coming from different sources. This article helps you understand why these duplicates exist, their impact on the mobile app, and how to resolve them.
In this article
- Scenario 1: Both synced and manual methods used
- Solution: Merging two profiles
- Scenario 2: Duplicates in your data source
- Scenario 3: Duplicates in the Public User role
- Prevention best practices
Scenario 1: Both synced and manual methods used
Constituents were added both manually and by data integration sync. Records were manually created in Constituent Manager before a data sync was initiated, pulling in the same user twice. To identify which is which, scroll to the System Information section at the bottom of the Profile tab.
| Constituent Origin | Label in Column |
|---|---|
| Manual / Static Entry | Finalsite System Default |
| Integration Sync | [Name of integration platform] |
Solution A: Delete the manually-created profile
Once you determine which profile was added manually, you can simply delete it.
⚠️ Important Note
Before deleting, click the Account tab to confirm the user does not have an Admin Login. You do not want to accidentally delete a profile connected to an administrator account.
Solution B: Merge two profiles
If the manually created profile is linked to an admin user login, you should merge the two records instead of deleting.
Follow these steps:
- 1. Highlight and copy the importID from the profile that has been added by data integration sync (found under the ID column).
- 2. Scroll up and delete the synced profile.
- 3. Go to the manually-added constituent profile you wish to keep.
- 4. Scroll down to the System Information section at the bottom of the Profile tab.
- 5. Click the green +Add New ImportID button.
- 6. Choose the Integration software name from the first dropdown menu and the Feed type in the second dropdown menu.
- 7. Paste the importID into the field in the ID column. Once the sync has been run, it will recognize that the two profiles have been merged into one.
Scenario 2: A duplicate exists in your data source
A duplicate record exists in your third-party integration software (SIS), bringing duplicate profiles into Finalsite. Because the sync is a single-directional import, deleting the profile in Finalsite will only result in the sync recreating it 24 to 72 hours later.
The Solution: You must resolve the duplicate within your SIS or data source directly.
Scenario 3: A duplicate record exists in the Public User role
Public User profiles are created via the Create New Account link on a login page in Composer. Sometimes a Public User profile has the username in use, which prevents the preferred synced profile from working correctly.
The Solution: Delete the Public User profile to free up the username for the preferred profile. You can prevent this by disabling the "Create New Account" option via the account element on that page in Composer.
Best practices for prevention
| Prevention Strategy | Benefit |
|---|---|
| Centralized data management | Managing all changes in the SIS prevents "ghost" accounts from appearing in Finalsite. |
| Email address audits | Ensuring each constituent has one unique primary email address is the best way to prevent record mismatching. |
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