List Item Copy Workflow

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Introduction

The following procedure creates an easy to use workflow on SharePoint Server 2007 Enterprise that, when launched, creates an exact duplicate of the selected list item, which you can then modify as necessary.  There's no need for any coding at all: Office SharePoint Designer 2007 already comes workflow tasks to do just this.  Let's get started.

Procedure

1. Open SharePoint Designer, and then connect to the desired site.
2. From the File menu, go to New, and then select Workflow...

3. On the first page of the Workflow Designer wizard, enter a name for the workflow, select the list that you want to attach the workflow to (in this case, TEST), and then make sure that the option Allow this workflow to be manually started... has been checked.  Then click Next.



4. On the next page of the Workflow Designer wizard, first enter a name for the step (there will be only one step).  Next, click the Actions button and then select Copy List Item.

5. On the Actions drop down list item you selected, click the first this list that you see.  The Choose List Item prompt will appear. Make sure that Current Item has been selected, and then click OK.  Now click the second instance of this list, and then select the list you want to copy to (in this case, the same list TEST).









6. After doing this, you will see the name of the list you selected back in step 3 appear twice.  In this example, the list selected was TEST, so it appears twice.

7. Now click Finish.  You're all done.  The next step is to test the workflow.  To do this, go back to your SharePoint site and navigate to the list you selected back in step 3.  In our example here, the name of this list is TEST.  Hover your cursor over one of the list items, and then open the drop down list that appears.  On this list, select Workflows.



8. This navigates you to the Workflows page for that list item.  In our example, one workflow has been created, Copy List Item2.  Click this workflow.

9. Back in step 3, you selected the option, Allow this workflow to be manually started... . Because of this selection, you are now taken to a page that allows you to manually launch the workflow.  Click Start to launch the workflow.

10. After a few moments, you'll be navigated back to the original list, which now displays a copy of the list item you selected to duplicate, in this case Test Item 1.  Note that all of the original list item's fields were exactly copied.  Excellent.

11. Congratulations!  You've done it.  Pretty simple, wasn't it?

References

• SharePoint Designer Copy List Item Workflow Activity Does Not Copy All Fields