The Backstory: A user on your team has admin permissions in Backstory, but their activity data is not syncing to the right CRM record. You realize it’s because their email address in Backstory doesn’t match their email address in the CRM. You create an External ID mapping to link that user to the correct CRM user so activity starts syncing correctly.
External ID mapping lets you manually link a Backstory user to their corresponding CRM user when Backstory cannot make that connection automatically. This article explains how to create and manage these mappings manually from the Users and Teams page.
Note: Creating an external ID mapping requires a Backstory administrator account.
How the External ID Is Used
Activity Capture
Backstory links each user to a CRM user so activity data can sync and be assigned correctly. This link is typically created automatically through email matching and updated during regular syncs.
Automatic linking for a Backstory user does not work if:
The email in Backstory does not match the email in the CRM
Multiple CRM users share the same email address
In these cases, you can create a manual external ID mapping using the CRM user’s Salesforce ID or email. Once you create a manual External ID mapping, it overrides any existing automatic mapping and is not updated by Backstory.
Note: Manual mapping is not required if the user’s email addresses in Backstory and your CRM already match.
Administrator Recognition
A missing external ID mapping can prevent a user from being recognized as an administrator in the Unified Backstory App. While admin permissions may be correctly assigned in the Backstory Web App, the Backstory Unified App relies on the user’s Salesforce external ID mapping to identify and apply those permissions. Without the mapping, administrator features like the Admin Panel may not be available.
If a user has administrator permissions in Backstory but cannot access the Admin Panel in the Unified Backstory App, first verify that their external ID mapping is configured correctly before troubleshooting other potential issues.
Single External ID Mapping
Use this method to map one Backstory user to one CRM user.
Prerequisites: You must have a Backstory Administrator account.
Log into Backstory as an administrator.
Click the grid icon in the top left corner.
Select Admin Panel.
Select Users and Teams.
Use the search bar above the user list to find the user you want to map.
Click the three dots at the end of the user’s row.
Click Edit External ID.
Click the pencil icon next to the integration you want to update.
Type the CRM user's Salesforce ID or email address in the External ID field and select the correct user from the suggested results.
Click Save.
The new mapping will appear on the user's profile.
Multiple External ID Mappings (Bulk Import)
Use this method to map multiple Backstory users to their CRM users at once using a CSV file.
Prerequisites: You must have a Backstory Administrator account.
Log into Backstory as an administrator.
Click the grid icon in the top left corner.
Select Admin Panel.
In the left navigation menu under User Management, click Users and Teams.
Click Edit External IDs at the top of the page.
Click CSV Template to download the template.
Open the downloaded file.
For each record, enter the appropriate values under each column:
email: the user’s email address in Backstory
external_id: the user’s ID in the CRM
alias_email: the email address Backstory should use to sync data for this user
operation: enter add as the value
Save the file.
Return to the Edit External IDs window.
Select the integration from the dropdown menu.
Browse for your CSV file, select it, and click Upload.
If any rows fail to import, click Download Log to see the error details.
Example CSV file:
email,external_id,alias_email,operation
janesmith @company.com,0050Y000000fL1WQAU,jane @oldcompany.com,add
Note: If a user already has a mapping assigned to them, attempting to add a new one via bulk import will result in an error for that row.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to create a manual mapping for every user?
No. Backstory automatically creates and maintains mappings for users whose Backstory email address matches their CRM email address. You only need to create a manual mapping when those emails do not match or when multiple CRM users share the same email.
What happens if I try to import a mapping for a user who already has one?
The import will fail for that row and log an error. You can click Download Log after the upload to see which rows failed and why. Rows that succeed will not appear in the log.
Why is my user's activity data not syncing correctly even after I created a mapping?
Allow time for the next scheduled CRM sync to run after saving a new mapping. For Salesforce, data is synced on the CRM pull schedule. For Oracle CRM, syncs run hourly. If the issue persists after a sync cycle, contact support@backstory.ai.
Need Help?
Contact your Customer Success Manager or support@backstory.ai.