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Fix Event Participant Contact→User Mapping — Investigation & Fix Plan

Overview

Some participants in the eventParticipantRelatedList component display as grey (non-clickable) names instead of profile links. The component uses Contact.User_Lookup__c to resolve a Contact to a User for the profile link. When User_Lookup__c is null, hasUser = false and the name renders as plain grey text instead of a link.

Confirmed Example:

  • Contact: Dillon Oergel (003Um00001SEmTxIAL), Email = doergel1@gmail.com
  • User: 005Um00000B6gflIAB, Email = doergel1@gmail.com, Username = doergel1@gmail.com.smi
  • Contact.User_Lookup__c = null — yet a perfectly matching User exists

Root Cause

The Contact.User_Lookup__c field is never automatically populated. The sync methods (syncContactToUser, bulkSyncContactsToUsers) exist in EventParticipantRedirectHelper.cls but are never called automatically — they must be triggered explicitly. No Flow or trigger populates this field on Contact create/update.

When getEventParticipants runs, it reads Contact__r.User_Lookup__c directly. If that field is null, hasUser = false and no profile link is rendered — even when a matching User exists.

Matching Logic (in syncContactToUser)

The sync uses a two-step prioritized match:

  1. Contact.Email = User.Email (primary)
  2. Contact.Email + '.smi' = User.Username (fallback)

For Dillon Oergel, both would match — the sync was simply never run.

Scope of the Problem

A SOQL query against the org confirms this affects multiple contacts:

SELECT Id, Name, Email, User_Lookup__c
FROM Contact
WHERE Id IN (SELECT Contact__c FROM Event_Participant__c WHERE Event_Registration__c != null)
AND User_Lookup__c = null

At least 10 affected contacts confirmed (partial result), including Dillon Oergel, Sigrid Lee, Tony Voss, and others.

Desired End State

  1. All existing event participants whose Contact has a null User_Lookup__c but a matching User record — display as clickable profile links.
  2. New participants added in the future are auto-synced so they display correctly from the first page load.

What We're NOT Doing

  • Not changing the matching logic in syncContactToUser / bulkSyncContactsToUsers (it already works)
  • Not changing the ParticipantWrapper or the wire service shape
  • Not changing how Users are matched (Email > Username.smi pattern stays)
  • Not adding a separate manual "sync" button to the UI

Key File Locations

File Purpose
force-app/main/default/classes/EventParticipantRedirectHelper.cls Apex — syncContactToUser, bulkSyncContactsToUsers, getEventParticipants
force-app/main/default/classes/EventParticipantRedirectHelperTest.cls Apex tests
force-app/main/default/lwc/eventParticipantRelatedList/eventParticipantRelatedList.js LWC — loadParticipants, participant rendering

Implementation Plan

Phase 1: Data Fix — Backfill Existing Null Mappings

Run anonymous Apex to sync all existing contacts that are event participants with a null User_Lookup__c. This is a one-time repair and unblocks all currently-affected participants immediately.

Verification Query (run before and after):

// Before: count contacts with null User_Lookup__c that are participants
List<Contact> unsynced = [
    SELECT Id, Name, Email
    FROM Contact
    WHERE Id IN (SELECT Contact__c FROM Event_Participant__c)
    AND User_Lookup__c = null
    AND Email != null
];
System.debug('Unsynced participant contacts: ' + unsynced.size());

Backfill Script (Anonymous Apex):

// Collect all participant contact IDs with null User_Lookup__c
List<Contact> contacts = [
    SELECT Id
    FROM Contact
    WHERE Id IN (SELECT Contact__c FROM Event_Participant__c WHERE Event_Registration__c != null)
    AND User_Lookup__c = null
    AND Email != null
];

List<String> contactIds = new List<String>();
for (Contact c : contacts) {
    contactIds.add(c.Id);
}

System.debug('Syncing ' + contactIds.size() + ' contacts');

// Use existing bulk sync method
List<EventParticipantRedirectHelper.SyncResult> results =
    EventParticipantRedirectHelper.bulkSyncContactsToUsers(contactIds);

Integer successCount = 0;
Integer failCount = 0;
for (EventParticipantRedirectHelper.SyncResult r : results) {
    if (r.success) successCount++;
    else failCount++;
}

System.debug('Sync complete. Success: ' + successCount + ', Failed: ' + failCount);

Run with:

sf apex run --file scripts/backfill-contact-user-sync.apex --target-org smi

Phase 1 Success Criteria

  • Backfill script runs without error
  • successCount is non-zero in debug output — 38 contacts synced, 0 failures
  • Dillon Oergel (003Um00001SEmTxIAL) now has User_Lookup__c = 005Um00000B6gflIAB
  • Navigate to the event page in Experience Cloud — Dillon Oergel appears as a clickable link

Phase 2: Auto-Sync on Participant Load (Preventive)

After loadParticipants returns in the LWC, check for any participants with hasUser = false. If found, call bulkSyncContactsToUsers for those contacts. If any sync succeeds, reload the participants. This self-heals newly-added participants on the next page view.

Changes Required

1. eventParticipantRelatedList.js

Add import for bulkSyncContactsToUsers:

import bulkSyncContactsToUsers from "@salesforce/apex/EventParticipantRedirectHelper.bulkSyncContactsToUsers";

Add a private syncMissingUsers method:

async syncMissingUsers(eventId) {
    const missing = this.participants
        .filter((p) => !p.hasUser && p.contactId)
        .map((p) => p.contactId);

    if (missing.length === 0) return;

    try {
        const results = await bulkSyncContactsToUsers({ contactIds: missing });
        const anySuccess = results.some((r) => r.success);
        if (anySuccess) {
            // Reload participants now that User_Lookup__c is populated
            this._foundWorkingId = false;
            this._isLoadingParticipants = false;
            await this.loadParticipants(eventId);
        }
    } catch (e) {
        // Sync failure is non-critical — participants still display as grey names
        console.error("Error syncing missing users:", e);
    }
}

In loadParticipants, after this.participants = [...participants] (line ~323), call syncMissingUsers:

this.participants = [...participants];
this._eventIdFromUrl = eventId;
this._foundWorkingId = true;
this.error = null;

// Async: try to resolve any missing user links without blocking render
this.syncMissingUsers(eventId);

Why async/non-blocking? The sync call updates Contact records and re-fetches participants. This should not delay the initial render. Users will see the list immediately; if a sync resolves a missing link, the list will re-render with the link shortly after.

2. No Apex changes needed for Phase 2

bulkSyncContactsToUsers already handles the sync. The wire service's cached version of getEventParticipants may return stale data — the manual loadParticipants call in syncMissingUsers bypasses the cache via imperative Apex.

Phase 2 Success Criteria

  • LWC deploys without errors
  • Add a new participant whose Contact has User_Lookup__c = null (but a matching User exists) → the name initially shows grey, then updates to a link within a few seconds
  • No errors thrown or shown to the user during sync
  • Participants who already have User_Lookup__c populated are unaffected

Phase 3: Auto-Sync on addParticipant (Apex)

When an event leader adds a participant via the component, attempt to sync the Contact→User mapping at insert time. This prevents the two-step experience in Phase 2 for newly-added participants.

Changes Required

EventParticipantRedirectHelper.cls — addParticipant method

After insert newParticipant; and before the re-query, add:

// Attempt to sync Contact→User mapping for the new participant
// This is best-effort — failure does not prevent the participant from being added
try {
    syncContactToUser(contactId);
} catch (Exception syncEx) {
    System.debug('Contact→User sync failed (non-critical): ' + syncEx.getMessage());
}

The existing re-query already reads Contact__r.User_Lookup__c, so if the sync succeeds, the returned ParticipantWrapper will already have hasUser = true.

Phase 3 Success Criteria

  • Apex deploys without errors — all 39 tests pass (100%)
  • Add a new participant via the component whose Contact has User_Lookup__c = null (but a matching User exists) → renders immediately as a link
  • Test: add participant whose Contact has NO matching User → still adds successfully, renders as grey name

Phase 4: Fix and Activate the User_to_Contact_Sync_Trigger Flow

Background — Why the Flow Never Worked

Two flows were built to handle this sync but neither is active:

Flow Status Problem
User_to_Contact_Sync_Trigger InvalidDraft Never activated; assignment logic is wrong
Sync_User_to_Contact Draft Autolaunched with triggerType = None — no trigger, never runs

User_to_Contact_Sync_Trigger is the intended automatic trigger (fires on User create/update), but it has two bugs:

  1. Wrong trigger type: Configured as RecordBeforeSave on User. Before-save flows can only modify the triggering record — they cannot perform DML on related records like Contact. Updating Contact.User_Lookup__c requires an after-save flow.

  2. Wrong assignment target: The Assign_User_to_Contact element assigns $Record.User_Lookup__c = $Record.Id, which writes back to the User record itself — not to the Contact. There is no Record Update element for the Contact at all, so even if activated, Contact.User_Lookup__c would never be set.

Changes Required

User_to_Contact_Sync_Trigger.flow-meta.xml

The flow logic is otherwise sound — the Contact lookup by Contact.Email = User.Email OR Contact.Email = User.Username is correct. The following must change:

  1. Change trigger type from RecordBeforeSave to RecordAfterSave:

    <triggerType>RecordAfterSave</triggerType>

  2. Fix the assignment target: Instead of assigning to $Record.User_Lookup__c (the User), assign to a Contact SObject variable:

    • Add a Contact variable (e.g. ContactToUpdate)
    • In the assignment: ContactToUpdate.Id = Get_Contact_Record.Id, ContactToUpdate.User_Lookup__c = $Record.Id

  3. Add a Record Update element that writes ContactToUpdate to the database (replacing the current connector from Assign_User_to_Contact back to Get_Contact_Record).

  4. Activate the flow: Change <status>InvalidDraft</status> to <status>Active</status>.

The corrected flow shape:

Start (After-Save, User CreateAndUpdate)
  → Get_Contact_Record (by email match)
  → Contact_Found? (decision)
      Yes → Check_Need_Update (Contact.User_Lookup__c != User.Id?)
                Yes → Assign ContactToUpdate (Id + User_Lookup__c)
                      → Update_Contact_Record (DML)
      No  → [end]

Phase 4 Success Criteria

  • Flow deploys without errors
  • Flow status is Active in Setup → Flows (activated manually in WUI; CLI metadata deploy sets structure but activation requires WUI confirmation)
  • Create a new community User whose email matches an existing Contact → Contact.User_Lookup__c is populated automatically within seconds
  • Update an existing User's email to match a Contact with null User_Lookup__c → same result
  • No errors appear in Setup → Apex Jobs or Debug Logs for the flow

Testing Strategy

Manual Test Cases

# Scenario Expected Result
1 Existing participant with null User_Lookup__c but matching User (e.g. Dillon Oergel after Phase 1) Renders as clickable link
2 Participant with null User_Lookup__c, no matching User Renders as grey non-clickable name
3 Participant with populated User_Lookup__c Renders as clickable link (unchanged)
4 Add participant (Phase 3): Contact has matching User Immediately renders as link in returned wrapper
5 Add participant (Phase 3): Contact has no matching User Adds successfully, renders as grey name
6 Page load with mixed participants (some synced, some not) after Phase 2 All synced participants get links; unsynced get links after a brief delay
7 New User created with email matching a Contact (Phase 4) Contact.User_Lookup__c auto-populated; no manual sync needed

Apex Unit Tests to Add

In EventParticipantRedirectHelperTest.cls:

  • addParticipant_syncsContactToUser_whenMatchingUserExists — after addParticipant returns, verify wrapper.hasUser == true
  • addParticipant_succeeds_whenNoMatchingUser — Contact with no matching User still returns a wrapper with hasUser == false

Execution Order

  1. Phase 1 first — immediate data fix, unblocks current affected participants with zero code deploy risk
  2. Phase 3 next — Apex only, prevents the issue for all future addParticipant calls
  3. Phase 4 next — fix and activate the trigger flow so all future User creates/updates auto-sync to Contact; this is the proper long-term prevention
  4. ~~Phase 2~~ — Dropped. Phases 1, 3, and 4 together fully cover the problem; the LWC auto-sync adds complexity without meaningful benefit now that the flow is active and addParticipant syncs inline.

References

  • Component: force-app/main/default/lwc/eventParticipantRelatedList/
  • Apex: force-app/main/default/classes/EventParticipantRedirectHelper.cls
  • Trigger flow (broken): force-app/main/default/flows/User_to_Contact_Sync_Trigger.flow-meta.xml
  • Autolaunched sync flow (inactive): force-app/main/default/flows/Sync_User_to_Contact.flow-meta.xml
  • Confirmed broken contact: 003Um00001SEmTxIAL (Dillon Oergel)
  • Confirmed matching user: 005Um00000B6gflIAB