What's inside this article:
- Basic information
- Copy a content item
- Clone a content item
- Edit a cloned content item
- Best practice for copying content
Basic information
What happens when I copy a content item?
You can create a copy of a content item that was published by your own site or a different site. The copy is fully editable. The original and the copy are treated as separate items in CMS, so any updates to the original do not affect the copy.
What happens when I clone a content item?
You can create a clone of a content item that was published by a different site. You cannot clone an item published by your own site. Some settings in the clone can be edited, but other settings must always match the original. The settings that are not editable in the clone will update automatically based on changes to the original. For example, you cannot add new posts in the clone of a Live blog. However, posts added to the original Live blog are also added to the clone.
What content types can I copy?
You can copy the following content types published by your own site or a different site:
- Text-based content:
- Article
- Backgrounder
- Blog
- FactCheck
- Feature
- Feature story
- News
- Transcript
You can copy the following content types published by a different site:
- Multimedia:
- Photo gallery
- Slider gallery
- Interactive:
- Dynamic infographics
- Poll
- Quiz
- Snippet
- Static infographics
What content types can I clone?
You can clone the following content types:
- Text-based content:
- Live blog
- Multimedia:
- Audio clip
- Document
- Loop video
- Video
You can only clone content that was published by a different site. It is not possible to clone content published by your own site.
How do search engines treat copied and cloned content pages?
For details, go to Best practice for copying content.
Copy a content item
You can copy a content item from the main Search screen in CMS. Follow these steps:
- Use the search filters to find item you want to copy.
- Click the Make a copy of item icon on the item box. If this icon does not appear, it is not possible to copy the item.
- Click Copy to confirm the action.
The edit screen for the copy opens in the same tab. The settings and content exactly match the original version, except for the following:
- The prefix [Copy] - is added to the title.
- The status of the copy is Draft.
- If you copied the item from a different site, the following settings are removed in the copy:
- Authors
- Categories
- Related content
- Tags
If you copied the item from a different site, you need to assign the copy to at least one Category from your own site. For instructions, see the following article:
Clone a content item
You can clone a content item from the main Search screen in CMS. Follow these steps:
- Use the search filters to find item you want to clone.
- Click the Make a clone of item icon on the item box. If this icon does not appear, it is not possible to clone the item.
- Click Make a clone to confirm the action.
The edit screen for the clone opens in the same tab. The settings and content exactly match the original version, except for the following:
- The prefix [Clone] - is added to the title.
- The status of the clone is Draft.
- The following settings are removed in the clone:
- Authors
- Categories
- Related content
- Tags
You need to assign the clone to at leaast one Category from your own site. For instructions, see the following article:
For information about the conditions that apply for editing a cloned content item, go to Edit a cloned content item.
Edit a cloned content item
The conditions that apply for editing a cloned content item vary, according to the content type. Go to the relevant section below:
Audio clip
The Replace option is not editable in the clone to replace the audio file. All other settings are editable and do not need to match the original.
If the audio file is replaced in the original Audio clip, it is also replaced in the clone.
For information about editing an Audio clip, see the following article:
Document
The Replace option is not editable in the clone to replace the document file. All other settings are editable and do not need to match the original.
If the document file is replaced in the original Document, it is also replaced in the clone.
For information about editing a Document, see the following article:
Live blog
Certain settings are fully editable in the clone, while other settings need to match the original. You cannot perform the following actions in the clone of a Live blog:
- Add new posts
- Edit or delete existing posts
- Update the Broadcast time zone setting
- Update the Date & time from and Date & time to settings
- Update Highlights / Summary settings
The clone inherits updates to the settings listed above from the original Live blog. For example, posts added to the original Live blog are also added to the clone.
The remaining settings in the clone are editable and do not need to match the original.
For information about editing a Live blog, see the following article:
Loop video
Certain settings are fully editable in the clone, while other settings need to match the original. You cannot perform the following actions in the clone of a Loop video:
- Adjust the Thumbnail
- Use the Replace option to replace the video file
The clone inherits updates to the settings listed above from the original Loop video. For example, if the Thumbnail for the original Loop video is changed, it is also changed in the clone.
The remaining settings in the clone are editable and do not need to match the original.
For information about editing a Loop video, see the following article:
Video
Certain settings are fully editable in the clone, while other settings need to match the original. You cannot perform the following actions in the clone of a video:
- Add or remove the Watermark
- Adjust the Thumbnail
- Use the Replace option to replace the video file
The clone inherits updates to the settings listed above from the original video. For example, if a watermark is added to the original video, it is also added to the clone.
The remaining settings in the clone are editable and do not need to match the original.
For information about editing a video, see the following article:
Best practice for copying content
When you copy / clone content using the dedicated tools described in this article:
- The URL for the original content is defined as the canonical URL in the metadata for the copy / clone.
- The canonical URL clearly signals to search engines which version of the content is the original version.
- Only the original version is indexed and included in search results.
This follows best journalistic practice, and avoids duplicated content appearing on search engine results pages.
