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Cloning assets

Cloning an asset creates a copy of the asset and its dependent assets, including its content. Cloning assets is useful if you want to start with a template but then modify it with your content. For example, if you need to add a new article to your site, you can clone one of the other articles so you have a template to start with and then modify the content.

When you clone an asset, both assets get the same name but a different asset ID. This means they are two uniquely identified assets. If you edit one asset, it will not change the other asset. So you can change the name of the cloned asset, and it will not change the name of the original asset.

When you clone an asset, various settings, including the permissions, metadata schemas, workflow schemas, and roles inherit from its new parent.

If you are a backend user, you will not have the correct permissions to apply some of these settings. You might, therefore, receive several warning messages when the HIPO Job finishes.

You can safely ignore these messages generated after cloning an asset: the process has finished successfully.

Read Linking assets to learn how to make content display in multiple areas of your site.

Steps

To clone assets:

  1. Drag one or more assets into the location to which you want to clone them.

    Dropping an asset directly onto a parent asset and selecting Clone here clones the asset under this parent asset as a child. For example, cloning a standard page asset under a site asset.

  2. Select Clone here.

  3. On the HIPO screen, optionally decide whether you want to change the name of the cloned assets.

    1. Select (Optionally) Change the name of the cloned assets.

    2. Type a name for each asset into the Change to field.

  4. Select Next to finish cloning the assets.

Cloning caveats

Some assets can not be cloned by design. Other assets can be cloned but could cause problems in certain situations.

Table 1. Cloning caveats and recommendations
Asset name or type Cloneable? Reason Workaround

User account types

No

Usernames must be unique.

If you are trying to put a user into multiple user groups, the Create location here option (instead of Clone here) lets you manage one user account across multiple group memberships.

Dependent assets

Not recommended

Dependent assets are permitted to be cloned independently of their parent asset.

However their linked relationship to the parent asset can sometimes be lost when the child assets are tightly coupled to the parent asset.

To avoid potential issues with assets such as decision tree assets, clone the entire parent and its child assets.

Form assets

Not recommended

In some cases, large or overly complex forms can have issues with cloning.

Consider using Squiz Advanced Forms for large or complex form projects.