Locating a Deleted SIS ID

[Carter41]

I am trying to use a SIS ID for a new course I'm building and am getting the error that it's already in use. I have searched for this SIS ID in all of our accounts and can't locate the course it's associated with, which leads me to believe the course was deleted.

Is there a way to search for or restore a deleted course via the SIS ID? Unfortunately I don't know the course ID that is required on this page (see screenshot).

[chriscas · Accepted solution]

Hi @Carter41,

The easiest way I know to do this is to run an admin Provisioning Report, selecting the Courses and the "include deleted items" options.  You'll get a CSV file you can open in excel and search for the SIS_Id.  You should then be able to get the course ID so you can restore the course and remove the SIS_id from it if you wish so it can be used elsewhere.

Hope this helps!

-Chris

[Carter41]

Thanks for the tip! I actually found it using this report option.

[KarenMatson]

Hi Chris,

Hoping you can help with a similar problem.

Canvas says we have an SIS ID already in use for a course. How do I restore the course so I can change the SIS ID? I tried a change file in my beta instance but that didn't seem to work.

Thank you for any help or ideas.

Karen

 

[chriscas]

Hi @KarenMatson,

You can follow the How do I restore a deleted user or course in an ac... - Instructure Community - 596828 guide to restore a single course, you just need to know the course's Canvas id (not the sis_id).  In your screenshot there, you have the 7043 course_id highlighted, so if that's the deleted one you need to restore simply put that in the id box, click find, then restore.  That will hopefully work for you!

-Chris

[KarenMatson]

Thank you! I got the course restored but it we use the same SIS ID on the Course Details and the Course Sections but for this course it doesn't work. I made a video showing our normal process and what isn't working in the course. I was hoping this might help you help me.

[chriscas]

Hi @KarenMatson,

I'm not able to play the video for some reason.  Coupe you perhaps try uploading it again?

-Chris

[chriscas]

Hi @KarenMatson,

I was able to see the video this time, though oddly I had to use a different account.  I'll check with the community team about that little issue...

Anyways, on to the issue you have right now.  I *think* you followed my original instructions with a small modification to run a provisioning report selecting sections (and including the deleted items), is that right?  If so, you should be on the right track.  What you need to search column B for in your file is that sis_id string that Canvas is telling you is already in use,  I don't see it on your screenshot, but I'm sure that file is huge.  You should be able to find that exact id in column B somewhere, then you can check the other columns for that row to figure out if the section is deleted, or if it somehow belongs to a different course.  Once you figure that out you'll know whether you need to restore the deleted section (which does need to be done via sis upload for sections, the admin tools in the UI only work to restore course shells or users), or just go into the course where it lived now and remove the sis_id.

This is definitely getting into the weeds, but I'm hoping the guidance here might get you going in the right direction!  Please do reply back here and let me know if this helped, or if you have already tried these exact steps.

-Chris