Disable the Copy Project feature

Agreeing with others in that we don't necessarily want the copy feature fully removed, but it would be great to:

a) Have the ability, as Admins, to disable it (user, team, group levels, or even template level)

b) Have the ability to easily track when projects are copied

We've run into a bunch of issues when people copy projects.

hi @Jeremy Flores‚

This topic came up with a client just last week. The client has PM's who use the copy feature often because it is the quickest way for them to recreate a similar project. But when they do this, it is causing issues with an integration and a custom field that PM's neglect to clear out during the copy process - namely the project number. Without this project number, they loose the ability to sync with the financial system and it destroys the integrity of the reporting.

Of course, turning off "copy" on a project would correct this problem but create another. So if, as an admin I was able to turn it off, I would want PMs to have the ability to create their own templates. Currently the client has not allowed users (e.g. trained them) to create their own templates for fear it will create clutter in the platform. However, its clear that the benefits of this, if having the ability to shut of "copy" are critical to efficiency.

I COMPLETELY DISAGREE - AS WE USE COPY PROJECT FEATURE - DAILY.

Now make disable as a System Administrator setting - I'd agree with.

Thanks.

I'd like to second @William English‚ that a more coherent solution would be preferable. It would be great if we could - per access level - define if the users is allowed to create from scratch, create by copy and/or create by template.

Because in our case we would like to limit it to only allowing creation by template to ensure that all settings are correct.

I'm with the disable by default group!

Same, disabling it by default would work for me, enabling it via Access Level seems like a great option.

Thank you for your responses @Kevin Quosig‚ @Sarah Nau‚ ‚ @William English‚ @Sarah Wilkerson‚ @Randy Roberts‚ and @Anthony Pernice‚. If we move forward with this enhancement, existing planner access levels will not have copy project enabled by default. You would need to enable it manually. You would not be required to update each user one-by-one, but rather this would mean manually enabling "copy" on existing access levels (for those who would need the ability to copy projects). Is that going to be a problem?

Yes please. Between users copying old projects and admins not knowing which projects are being copied, the same mistakes can be repeated for years.

I would implement this immediately. It makes more effective governance possible. I do see a need for copying, occasionally and by trusted people. The ability to control this in the access panel would be optimal.

BTW, @Jeremy Flores‚ , I'll talk about it anytime!

I would like the system admin to set access level for copying projects. Occasionally it is needed but most of the time we want team members to use templates instead.

Secondly, we need to track when a project is copied off of another one and what the name was. Right now it shows the project template that the original project plan was copied from so you can't tell if it was copied or if it really came right from that template.