Quick Answer
The Pinnacle Series–KnowledgeSmart integration is configured by entering your KnowledgeSmart API key under Integrations > Configure in the Pinnacle Series Admin Portal, after which turning on Synchronize Users with KnowledgeSmart automatically creates and updates KnowledgeSmart user records from Pinnacle Series and enables seamless sign-in through assessment invite links.
What This Article Helps With
This article explains how to connect your organization's KnowledgeSmart subscription to Pinnacle Series, so that Pinnacle Series users are created in KnowledgeSmart automatically and can reach their assessments without a separate KnowledgeSmart password. It applies to Pinnacle Series Administrators setting up the integration, and to KnowledgeSmart Administrators who need to supply the API key.
Required Subscriptions and Permissions
Subscriptions
- An active KnowledgeSmart subscription.
- An active Pinnacle Series subscription.
Permissions
- In KnowledgeSmart: admin permissions on the KnowledgeSmart account, so you can retrieve the API key.
- In Pinnacle Series: the Administrator permission. Enabling the KnowledgeSmart integration is part of what this permission covers.
- To test the integration afterward: the Assignment Administrator or Assignor permission, so you can assign an assessment and confirm the connection works. The Administrator permission on its own lets you configure the integration but does not let you assign assessments.
How to Configure the Integration
- Sign in to the KnowledgeSmart admin dashboard at online.knowledgesmart.net.
- Go to the ACCOUNTS tab.
- Find the KnowledgeSmart account you want to integrate and select Show in the API key column to display your unique API key.
- Copy the API key to your clipboard.
- In the Pinnacle Series Admin Portal, select Integrations in the left-hand navigation.
- Select Configure on the KnowledgeSmart entry.
- In the Configure KnowledgeSmart dialog, paste the API key you copied earlier into the API Key field.
- Turn on Allow Users to Self Enroll for Assessments, if required. This controls a corresponding KnowledgeSmart setting, 'Allow self-invite'. With it on, users can enroll themselves in a mapped assessment from a learning path, and assessment invites can be resumed from within Pinnacle Series.
- Turn on Synchronize Users with KnowledgeSmart. This is a separate step - saving the API key does not turn synchronization on by default. Turning it on mirrors any Pinnacle Series user changes into KnowledgeSmart, and several parts of the integration depend on it, including the assessment invite flow and the seamless login described below. No further action is required on the KnowledgeSmart side. You can switch this setting on or off again at any time from the same dialog.
- Select Save.
- Go to Assignments Assignment Management and select Assign New.
- Confirm that Assessment now appears in the dropdown alongside Content - this confirms the integration is configured and active. If it does not appear, the API key has not been accepted; see Common Questions below.
What User Synchronization Does
- Users are created and updated in KnowledgeSmart from Pinnacle Series. The fields that sync are email address, full name and User ID.
- The sync runs one way only, from Pinnacle Series to KnowledgeSmart, roughly every 15 minutes. Pinnacle Series is the authoritative source for user data. Changes made to a synced user in KnowledgeSmart do not sync back and will be overwritten - make the change in Pinnacle Series instead.
- Custom user data fields, teams and manager relationships are not synced — only the core identity fields above. If you need Pinnacle Series attributes as KnowledgeSmart user data fields, that remains a manual export and import.
- A user who follows an assessment invite link is taken to the Pinnacle Series sign-in page, signs in with their Pinnacle Series credentials (or via SSO, if enabled), and is then redirected to their KnowledgeSmart assessment without needing a separate KnowledgeSmart password. This applies to the invite-link route only - signing in directly at the KnowledgeSmart URL still requires KnowledgeSmart credentials.
- With synchronization enabled, a user following an invite link is sometimes taken to their Pinnacle Series Home page after signing in, rather than straight into the assessment. If this happens, the assessment is waiting on their Assignments page.
Helpful Tips
- You can review what the sync has done from KnowledgeSmart Users Sync History.
- If you rotate your KnowledgeSmart API key and the integration stops working, replacing the key in place is not always enough - the old value can conflict with the new one. Clear the API key field, save, then enter the new key and save again.
Common Questions
Does saving the API key automatically turn on user synchronization?
No. Synchronization is a separate setting, Synchronize Users with KnowledgeSmart, in the same Configure KnowledgeSmart dialog. Saving the API key on its own does not turn it on.
Why doesn't Assessment appear in the Assign New dropdown?
The integration is not active. Confirm that the API key has been entered and saved, and that it is the current key for that KnowledgeSmart account.
Why isn't the KnowledgeSmart Admin Area link showing in the Admin Portal navigation?
That link is gated on your permissions in KnowledgeSmart, not in Pinnacle Series. A Pinnacle Series administrator without elevated KnowledgeSmart permissions will not see it, even with full Admin Portal access.
Why aren't users appearing in KnowledgeSmart after I turned on synchronization?
Check that Synchronize Users with KnowledgeSmart is switched on in the Configure KnowledgeSmart dialog, and review KnowledgeSmart Users Sync History for errors. Invalid or duplicate email addresses in Pinnacle Series are a common cause.