Copy or clone a content item

What's inside this article:


Basic information

From Pangea CMS, you can instantly create a copy / clone of a story from another site. Your copy / clone is created in an unpublished state ("Draft" status), so you can localize the content before publication. This functionality supports publishing the same story on multiple websites in different languages for different audiences.

NOTE: Copy / clone functionality is available between partner sites under the same entity. For example, if your site is under the entity RFE/RL, you can copy / clone a story from another RFE/RL site.

The instant copy / clone functionality in Pangea CMS offers the following benefits over manually copying and pasting content from other sites:

  • You save time, as it is not necessary to manually create the copy from scratch.
  • You follow good journalistic practice, as the URL for the original story is automatically added as the canonical URL for the copy / clone.



Copying: Rules

The rules for copying are described in the sections below:


How does copying work?

You can copy a story from your own site or from a different site. On the edit page for the copy, all content is editable. The copy is not connected to the original story. This means that the copy will not inherit updates from the original story (and vice versa).

NOTE: All services can copy published content. The option to copy unpublished content is available on request. Learn more.


Which content types can I copy?

You can copy the following content types from your own site or a different site:

  • Text:
    • Article
    • Backgrounder
    • Blog
    • FactCheck
    • Feature
    • Feature story
    • News
    • Transcript

You can copy the following content types from a different site:

  • Multimedia:
    • Photo gallery
    • Slider gallery
  • Interactive:
    • Dynamic infographics
    • Poll
    • Quiz
    • Snippet
    • Static infographics



Cloning: Rules

The rules for cloning are described in the sections below:


How does cloning work?

You can clone a story from a different site (you cannot clone a story from your own site). The clone remains connected to the original story. On the edit page for the clone, some content is locked and cannot be added / edited. This content is inherited from the original story. For example, you cannot add new posts to the clone of a Live blog. However, when a new post is added to the original Live blog, the post is also added automatically to the clone.

NOTE: You can only clone published content. Cloning is not available for unpublished content.


Which content types can I clone?

You can clone the following content types from a different site:

  • Text:
    • Live blog
  • Multimedia:
    • Audio clip
    • Document
    • Loop video
    • Video (you cannot clone a stealth video)

You cannot clone content from your own site.



Copy a story

To make a copy of a story, first find the story on the main Search page in Pangea CMS.

To find a story from another site:

  1. In the Sites drop-down menu, select the name of the site.
  2. Hit Search to refresh the search results.

The results refresh to show content from the selected site.

To make a copy of a story, hit the Make a copy of item button. If you do not see this button, it is not possible to copy the item. To learn which content it is possible to copy, review the rules for copying.

The edit screen for the copy opens in the same tab. The settings and content exactly match the original story, with the following exceptions:

  • 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

No restrictions apply when you edit a copy. The copy is not connected to the original story, so you can freely localize the content and update the settings.



Clone a story

To make a clone of a story, first find the story on the main Search page in Pangea CMS.

To find a story from another site:

  1. In the Sites drop-down menu, select the name of the site.
  2. Hit Search to refresh the search results.

The results refresh to show content from the selected site.

To make a clone of a story, hit the Make a clone of item button. If you do not see this button, it is not possible to clone the item. To learn which content it is possible to clone, review the rules for cloning.

The edit screen for the clone opens in the same tab. The settings and content exactly match the original story, with the following exceptions:

  • 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

Restrictions apply when you edit a clone. For details, go to the following section:



Clones: Editing restrictions

The restrictions for editing a clone vary, according to the content type. Go to the relevant section below:


Audio clip

The Replace option is not available to replace the audio file. All other content is editable and does not need to match the original.

If the audio file is replaced in the original Audio clip, it is also replaced in the clone.


Document

The Replace option is not available to replace the document file. All other content is editable and does not need to match the original.

If the document file is replaced in the original Document, it is also replaced in the clone.


Live blog

When you edit the clone of a Live blog, you cannot perform the following actions:

  • Add new posts.
  • Edit or delete existing posts.
  • Update Live broadcasting settings.
  • Update Highlights settings.

The clone inherits updates to the above settings from the original Live blog. All other content is editable and does not need to match the original.


Loop video

When you edit the clone of a Loop video, you cannot perform the following actions:

  • Adjust the Thumbnail.
  • Use the Replace option to replace the video file.

The clone inherits updates to the above settings from the original Loop video. All other content is editable and does not need to match the original.


Video

When you edit the clone of a Video, you cannot perform the following actions:

  • Add or remove the Watermark.
  • Adjust the Thumbnail.
  • Use the Replace option to replace the video file.

The clone inherits updates to the above settings from the original Video. All other content is editable and does not need to match the original.



Copy unpublished content

IMPORTANT: This functionality is available on request. If your site would like the option to copy unpublished content, contact Pangea Customer Care.

The option to copy an unpublished story is useful when all versions of the same story (original and copies) need to be published at the same time across multiple websites. This option is available for the following content types:

  • Article
  • Blog
  • Feature
  • Feature story
  • News
  • Transcript

You can copy an unpublished story that has one of the following statuses:

  • Scheduled
  • Edited

NOTE: You cannot copy an unpublished story that has the Draft status. This is because the "Draft" status signals that the content is still in progress.

Find more details and guidance in the sections below:


Copy content with the "Edited" status

You can copy a story that has the Edited status. The "Edited" status normally signals that the content is in review. Before you copy a story with the "Edited" status, it is important to confirm that the content is finalized and ready to publish.

When you copy a story with the "Edited" status, you should publish your copy at the same time as or after the original story. If the copy is published first, SEO for the original story can be negatively impacted. Learn more.


Copy content with the "Scheduled" status

The Scheduled status signals that a story is not yet published, but it will be published automatically at a specific date and time in the future. You can copy a story that has the "Scheduled" status.

When you copy a story that has the Scheduled status, your copy inherits the same publication settings as the original story. This automates publication, ensuring that the copy and the original are automatically published at the same time.

To check the publication settings, click the Pub. options button on the edit page for the copy. The dialog shows the scheduled date and time for publication.

To save your copy with the same publication settings:

  1. Change the status of the copy from Draft to Published.
  2. Select Schedule / Schedule & close on the edit page for the copy.

To learn more about scheduled publication in Pangea CMS, see the following article:



Canonical URLs

A canonical URL can be included in the metadata for any webpage. The canonical URL tells search engines which URL represents the original version of the content. This is useful when the same content is shared on multiple webpages. Only the canonical URL is indexed by search engines and included on search engine results pages.

When you use the instant copy / clone functionality in Pangea CMS, the URL for the original story is automatically added as the canonical URL in the metadata for the copy / clone. This follows good journalistic practice and general SEO guidance.

If you copy an unpublished story in Pangea CMS, you should publish your copy at the same time as or after the original story. If the copy is published first, the canonical URL for the copy will point to your 404 error page. This might negatively impact SEO for the original story, as search engine crawlers will associate the URL with your 404 error page.



Find copies / clones

On the main Search page in Pangea CMS, the following rules apply:

  • Copies: All copies are marked with the "Copy" chip. This chip signals that the story is a copy of another story.
  • Clones: All clones are marked with the "Clone" chip. This chip signals that the story is a clone of another story.

You can set the filters, so the results will show only copies and clones. Follow these basic steps:

  1. Ensure Content is selected in the search filters.
  2. Under Other, tick Content sharing.
  3. Hit Search.

The results refresh to show only copies and clones.