Most associations run the same award each year, with the same application process, fees, and categories. Cloning starts next year’s award from this year’s setup, so you do not have to rebuild it by hand.
What It Controls
Cloning creates a new award and copies the source award’s setup into it. It copies:
- The source award’s settings, including its description, feature switches, page layouts, Portal visibility switch and display window, and custom field values.
- The source award’s application processes, application fees, nomination processes, reference processes, and recipient categories.
- The source award’s review spaces, if it has any.
Cloning does not copy the source award’s nominations, applications, references, reviews, or recipients. It copies the setup that controls how people participate, not the activity that has already happened.
How to Clone an Award
- Go to Awards & Nominations › Awards and choose Clone an Existing Award.
- Under Which award should we clone?, choose the award you want to copy.
- Enter a Name, and adjust the suggested ID if you want a different identifier.
- Enter an Award Date.
- Choose Clone Award.
Result
Rhythm creates the new award and copies the source award’s application processes, fees, nomination processes, reference processes, recipient categories, and review spaces. You land on the new award’s applications, nominations, or recipients page, based on which feature switch comes first for that award.
Tip
Start the new award's name with a number that uniquely identifies it, such as the year. For example, use "2027 Delta Scholarship" instead of just "Delta Scholarship." This makes the award easier to tell apart from earlier or later years, and it keeps reporting accurate when similar awards recur year after year.
The Settings
| Setting | Options | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Which award should we clone? | Any award in your Rhythm account, chosen from a list | None | Required. This is the award whose settings and configuration are copied |
| Name: | Any text | Empty | Required. This is the new award’s name |
| ID: | Letters, digits, underscores, vertical bars, and hyphens | Suggested from the name | Required. This is the new award’s permanent identifier. You can’t change it after you save |
| Award Date: | Date and time | Empty | Required. This is the date the new award will be given |
Warning
The new award inherits the source award’s Portal visibility switch and display window exactly as they are. If the source award is visible in the Portal and has no end date, the clone is visible to members as soon as you create it, before you have reviewed or adjusted it.
Dependencies and Precedence
- Cloning replaces the source award’s identifier and name in the top-level fields of each record it copies, so a copied application process, fee, or category usually appears as part of the new award. That replacement checks only top-level fields, and only the first place the source identifier appears in each field. If a field names the source award twice, or a reference sits inside a list or nested object, it can still point to the source award’s records. After cloning, check that your copied fees, recipient categories, and process cross-references point where you expect.
- Cloning is not one all-or-nothing action. Rhythm creates the new award first, then copies each kind of configuration in a separate step. If a later step fails, the award and any completed steps stay in place, and nothing is rolled back.
- If a review space fails to copy, Rhythm only notes it quietly. The clone still reports success, even though that award’s review setup did not come across. If reviews do not look right after you clone an award that uses them, check the review setup directly.
Change Impact and How to Revert
There is no “undo clone.” If you clone into the wrong identifier or choose the wrong source award, delete the award and start again. You can delete it only if nothing has been recorded against it, because Rhythm refuses the delete once the new award has nominations, recipients, or reviews of its own.
If a clone fails partway through, you cannot retry with the same identifier because the partial award already uses it. Find that award in the list, then either finish setting it up by hand or delete it before trying again.
Permissions
You need permission to clone awards, granted by the day-to-day user or administrator policy. Cloning is another way to make a new award, even without the separate permission to create one from scratch. If you can clone awards, you can effectively create new awards.
Validation and Errors
- Cloning a legacy or imported award is refused when the award’s identifier is a system-generated value rather than one you chose. Rhythm tells you that you can’t clone legacy or imported awards, so create the new award from scratch instead.
- An identifier already in use, or one with characters your account does not allow, is refused.
- The identifier check that appears while you type is advisory only. It flags a likely duplicate, but the actual clone can still fail on a duplicate the check did not catch, or succeed despite the warning if the identifier is free.