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Clone the item

Create an exact copy or make changes​

To create a copy of the current item, you can clone it. This provides a quick way to create multiple items with similar data.

During the item clone process, you can choose to override any aspect of the new item, including its properties, attribute values and geographical location. You can also choose how any linked items will be processed.

For example, the following diagram shows an item of the Street Lights design. It links to several component items (directly and indirectly). When cloning this street light, one of the following behaviours can be chosen.

A diagram showing a street light linked to several components. This is the original item to be cloned.
Example - Keep links

The clone will link to the same component items as the original.

A diagram showing the new street light clone linking to the same components
Example - Clone links

The entire chain of component items will also be cloned (regardless of whether each Link attribute is Strong or Weak) and the clone will link to them.

A diagram showing the new street light clone linking to new component clones
Example - Ignore links

The clone won't link to any components.

A diagram showing the new street light clone linking to no components
Note

If you need to clone an item regularly, consider making it a reusable template instead!

Start the process​

To clone an item, your user account must have permission to create items of the relevant design. To start the process, select Clone item in the item header.

To create an exact copy of the item, select Clone immediately. If the original item links to any child items, they will also be cloned (except for activities). Each clone will have a unique Item ID but otherwise be identical to the original.

Alternatively, select any of the following steps to customise how the item is cloned.

1 Configure properties​

These values are copied from the original item's properties. Select a property to override it with a new value. If the original item is a template, the clone will be created in the Live collection by default.

Select another step or select Clone to finish.

The first step of the clone item process

2 Configure attributes​

By default, all attribute values are copied from the original item.

To override a particular attribute, select Add attribute and choose it from the list. Provide a new value or select Unset to clear the current one. Repeat for each attribute you want to override.

Select another step or select Clone to finish.

The second step of the clone item process

3 Configure child links​

By default, the clone will link to the same child items as the original. If any child items are templates, the clone will link to clones of them instead. However, you can selectively override this behaviour as needed.

Each Link attribute on the original item has a Graph property, which determines the graph type that its linked items appear on. For each graph type, you can specify what happens to the Link Attributes that use it (some are pre-populated with suggestions):

  • Ignore - the Link attributes will be cleared, so they'll contain no linked items on the clone.

  • Keep - the Link attributes will continue linking to the same items as the original.

  • Clone - the Link attributes will link to clones of the originally linked items.

Select another step or select Clone to finish.

The third step of the clone item process

4 Configure parent links​

There may be parent items that link to the original item (it appears in their Link attributes). By default, parent items won't link to the clone, unless the original item is a template (and the parents themselves are not).

However, you can selectively override this behaviour as needed. Like the previous step, this is set per graph type, but on the parent items instead:

  • Ignore - the Link attributes of parent items won't link to the clone.

  • Reparent - the Link attribute of parent items will link to the clone.

Select another step or select Clone to finish.

The fourth step of the clone item process

5 Configure location​

By default, the clone will use the same geometry as the original item (if it has any). To override this, select Set location to open the Geometry Editor and use it to draw a point, line or polygon on the map.

Select another step or select Clone to finish.

The fifth step of the clone item process
Note

This step will appear dimmed and unavailable if the original item's design doesn't allow geometry.

Finish the process​

After completing the relevant steps as needed, select Clone to finish. A notification will indicate whether the item was cloned successfully or failed due to an error.

The details of the new clone item will be displayed.

A notification saying Item Cloned Successfully

Scheduled cloning​

You can create a schedule that automatically clones an item on certain dates or at repeated intervals. This is particularly useful for activity items, e.g. clone an inspection item for a particular asset every month.

To learn more, see Schedules in Asset Classic.