As a moderator, you can combine duplicate discussions or move off-topic replies into the right thread. This keeps your community organized and makes sure conversations stay in the best place.
What you can do
There are two ways to merge content in a forum discussion:
- Merge into…—Moves an entire discussion, including all replies, into another discussion. Use this when two threads cover the same topic and you want to combine them into one.
- Move selected replies…—Moves only specific replies from one discussion into another. Use this when a conversation has gone off-topic and those replies belong somewhere else.
Before you begin
To use either merge option, the following must be true:
- You have admin or moderator permissions to move topics/posts in the discussion category.
- Your community admin has turned on the discussion merge feature.
- The discussion you want to merge is not a draft.
- The discussion has not already been merged into another thread.
If any of these conditions are not met, the merge options will not appear in the menu.
Merge an entire discussion
Use Merge into… to move all replies from one discussion into another. After the merge, the original discussion is closed and its link automatically redirects anyone who visits it to the new location.
To merge an entire discussion:
- Open the discussion you want to merge.
- Select the three-dot menu and choose Merge into….
- In the search field, type part of the target discussion's title and select it.
- Choose any optional settings (see below).
- Click Merge.
After a successful merge, you'll see a confirmation message and the original discussion link will redirect to the new one.
Optional settings
You can turn on any of the following before completing the merge:
| Setting | What it does | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Notify reply authors | Sends each person who replied in the original discussion a one-time notification with a link to where their reply now lives. | Use when authors would otherwise be confused about where their reply went. You can skip this for routine cleanup. |
| Copy subscribers to the target | Adds everyone who was following the original discussion as a follower of the new one. | Use when both discussions covered the same topic and followers should continue receiving updates. |
| Clear blocking states before merging | Removes sticky, announcement, or homepage-pinned status from the original discussion so the merge can go through. | Use when the original discussion is pinned or marked as an announcement. |
Votes, reactions, and correct-answer markers always mover with their replies automatically-no setting is required
Move selected replies
Use Move selected replies… when only some replies in a discussion belong in a different thread. The original discussion stays open, and a short notice replaces each moved reply so readers know where it went.
To move selected replies:
- Open the discussion containing the replies you want to move.
- Select the three-dot menu and choose Move selected replies….
- In the search field, type part of the target discussion's title and select it.
- Check the replies you want to move.
- Click Move replies.
After a successful move, you'll see a confirmation message and the original discussion reloads with a short notice where each moved reply used to be.
Select replies to move
The reply list shows all replies in the thread, indented to reflect how they're nested. Keep the following in mind when selecting:
- If you select a reply that has nested replies below it, those nested replies move too. A warning appears in the list when this will happen.
- The list shows a maximum of 30 replies at a time.
The reply list only shows the first 30 replies in a discussion. If the replies you need to move are not visible, try moving some of the visible replies first-this reduces the total count and may bring the replies you need to view on your next pass. If you want to move all replies at one, use Merge into... instead.
What readers see after a move
Where a moved reply used to appear, readers see a short notice: "This message has moved—view it in the new discussion." Selecting the link takes them directly to the moved reply.
If a reader does not have access to the category where the reply was moved, they will see the notice but no link. This is expected-the destination stays private for readers who don't have access.
Limitations
Keep the following in mind when merging discussions:
- Same category only—You can only merge discussions within the same category. Cross-category merging is not currently supported. To achieve this, please edit the post and move to the category you wish to merge into.
- Merges cannot be undone—If you merge by mistake, you can move the content back using another merge, but there is no one-click undo.
- One merge at a time—Two moderators cannot merge the same discussion at the same time. If this happens, refresh the page and check the result before trying again.
Common questions
The merge option is not showing in the menu
Check that your role includes the permission to move topics, that your admin has turned on the merge feature, and that the discussion is not a draft or a previously merged thread.
The original discussion link still shows the old thread
Try a hard refresh in your browser. The redirect happens on the server side, so the link is already pointing to the right place.
Moved replies are not appearing in the target discussion
Try a hard refresh on the target discussion. The replies are saved—this is usually a brief display delay.
The merge failed with an error
The most common reasons a merge does not go through are:
- The target discussion is in a different category—Choose a target in the same category as the source.
- The original discussion is sticky or pinned—Turn on Clear blocking states and try again.
- The target was previously merged—Find the active version of that thread and use it as the target instead.
If none of the above apply and the merge continues to fail, refresh the page and try again. If the problem continues, contact Bevy Support with the discussion URL.
Related information
Every merge is recorded for your community's audit history, including who performed it and when. Search results are also updated automatically so that links to moved content point to the right place.