Can you rearrange sub-accounts?

[JaiWOwen]

Hi all,

Doing some spring cleaning of the Canvas instance I manage. I want to create an Archive sub-account and then move the existing sub-accounts we no longer use into it, is this possible?

I feel like if this isn't a feature it should be considered as it would clean up Canvas a bit especially for Accounts with many sub-accounts.

Thank you

Jai

BCTG

[mzimmerman]

Hi @JaiWOwen 

If your sub-accounts have SIS IDs, then you can use the SIS imports tool to upload a CSV that places the sub-accounts under different parent accounts.  There is some documentation of the file formats at https://canvas.instructure.com/doc/api/file.sis_csv.html , but the easiest way to get a CSV of your existing accounts is to run a provisioning report (Admin > Settings > Reports > Provisioning...) and choose "Accounts CSV" as the report you want to generate.

[JaiWOwen]

Hi @mzimmerman

I have been giving this a shot in the test instance, the idea to run a provisioning report was a great shortcut to getting SIS IDs for the subaccounts. Problem is in my tests it accepts all the accounts in the SIS Import but the sub-accounts remain stubbornly under the root account instead of moving under the new parent.

[chriscas]

Hi @JaiWOwen,

I have used the method @mzimmerman outlines in the past to move accounts around without encountering any issues.  My guess is that something may be slightly off with the CSV you're uploading to Canvas.  Is it something you'd be willing to share so someone could take a look?  The accounts file shouldn't really contain anything top-secret, but I know some schools/universities would rather not have any organizational data like that shared in the public view.

If all of your accounts/subaccounts have SIS_IDs, it may be easier to use the SIS report instead of provisioning, as you can download that file, make changes in the parent_account_id column then upload it right back.

-Chris

[JaiWOwen]

Hi @chriscas,

I've double and triple checked my .csv and can't find an error and it certainly isn't coming up with errors in the SIS import.

I have tried your method of using the SIS report and just changing the parent account ID, still remains stubbornly under the root account not the new parent I am assigning. As it's currently only as test I'm happy to attach the file for someone else to look over it, see if there's an error I'm missing.

The attached file is the SIS report with the parent account ID changed for the test account I'm trying to move

- Jai

[chriscas · Accepted solution]

Hi @JaiWOwen,

That file does look good to me.  I think UI stickiness might be coming in to play here (where info entered in the UI takes precedence over info uploaded via SIS CSV files).  When you upload that file in the UI, try selecting the "Override UI changes" and "Process as UI changes" option boxes and see if it works correctly.  I'd suggest doing this in a Test or Beta environment first to lower the risk of breaking anything unexpectedly.

-Chris

[JaiWOwen]

Hi @chriscas,

That's done it, this is only a PoC test so I'm working solely on the test site. I'm going to have a look around see if this had any impact on other things before I expand my testing.

Thank you for the help!

Jai