Clone page(s)

Any page on Stanford Sites can be cloned to create a new page. This can be especially handy when you need to make a new version of a page for review or want to follow a similar template for a series of pages.

Cloning creates an exact copy of the original content. To clone a page:

1. Click All Content

2. Use the filters to search for and select the content you want to clone. For example, you can filter by Content type or search for a specific page by its title.

   

3. Click the checkbox next to the content you want to clone. Then, under the Action list, select Clone selected content and click Apply to selected items.

Next, you will see the Configure “Clone selected content” action applied to the selection screen.

From here, you can select how many clones you want to make (up to 10).

1. Choose a number from the Clone how many times list.
2. In the Prepend Cloned Titles field, enter a keyword or phrase so you can identify the cloned v. original content later. (Once the clone has been made you will edit the content and rename it.)
3. Click Apply.

Once the cloning is complete you will be redirected to the Content list page. Your cloned content should appear at the top of the list. You can now edit the content as needed.

Important notes 

• Cloned content will default to unpublished. Once you are finished editing cloned content, publish it to make it available on your site.
• Metadata for original content also will copy to its clone, so remember to edit the Page Metadata, if necessary.
• The person who clones the content will be identified as its author.
• After cloning content you will need to manually adjust the menu settings if the page location is different than the source.

Best practices

Cloning is useful for quick page editing and should never be used to create duplicate content on your site. Duplicate content can create a confusing user experience, clutter search results, negatively impact the Google score for your site, and create a content maintenance burden. Remember, web pages can be linked to from anywhere! If a page needs to appear in more than one category, simply create pathways to that content using links, cards, or other methods.

Clone multiple content items or content types

You can clone multiple content items or content types by following the instructions above. Simply select more than one item on the Content list page to clone them simultaneously. 

Clone news or events

To clone Events or News content, follow the steps above and take the additional step of adjusting the cloned Event or News content’s Date and Time. To do this:

1. Click on Adjust Cloned Field Values. 
2. Then click the Increment Amount list and select the number of days/weeks/months/years by which you want to increase the current value. You can increment an Event or News by a max of 12.
3. Click on the Units list to select either Year/Month/Week/Day or Time in terms of Hour/Minute/Second.

For example:

• To clone an annual Event that originally happened on March 3, 2022, first, clone the event and then change the Increment Amount to 12 and the Units to Year. The cloned Event will have a date of March 3, 2023.
• To clone a News article originally dated September 24, 2022, first, clone the article and then change the Increment Amount to 7 and the Units to Days. The cloned article will then have a date of October 1, 2022.

NOTE: There is a known bug when creating two or more clones of Events or News and incrementing them by date or time. The date and time will only increment once, so all the clones will have the same date and time. (For example: If you clone an Event 5 times and increment the date by 1 month it does not increment each subsequent clone by another month.)