Copy elements with links to different board

  • 10 December 2020
  • 7 replies
  • 1278 views

I have a ‘draft’ board with a whole lot of elements that have carefully crafted internal links to other parts of the board… And now I need to copy this content to a new (already created and half full) board, while preserving those links. The copy and paste works fine, but the links are lost. 


7 replies

Userlevel 7
Badge +4

@Charlotte Ward Can’t find your question in what your wrote, but yes, that’s how it works. The links are not transferable with that method.

Userlevel 7
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@Charlotte Ward & @Isman Tanuri -

I’m getting different behavior - I did a simple unit test of having a board with two shapes, one linked to the other. When I copy & paste them into a new board, the link carries over, but points back to the original board’s 2nd shape. When I duplicate the board, the link is correctly translated.

Kiron

Userlevel 7
Badge +4

@Kiron Bondale Yes, that’s how I understood it as well. The internal links will always point to the original destination if the elements were copied from another board. Duplicating a board would preserve the links and their destinations (although not always true because I’ve experienced quirks!)

Userlevel 7
Badge +12

Here’s a long-winded answer for you all :wink:

Every board has its own unique identifier/ID. E.g., the following boards Id would be: o9J_djjD8vhdLfl

https://miro.com/app/board/o9J_djjD8vhdLfl=/

Every object you create on a board (shape, sticky, image, card - anything) also have their own unique ID in Miro. So, if you create a sticky and then copy and paste it nine times, all nine of those stickies will have their own ID.

In this example, I created a new sticky and it has an ID of: 3074457352784569104.

When I do the “Copy link” on the sticky, the link generated will contain the board and widget ID. Here’s the linked created to the above sticky note (ID3074457352784569104).

(NOTE: I replaced part of the board link with “123”)

https://miro.com/app/board/o9J_123=/?moveToWidget=3074457352784569104&cot=14

When I copy any object that has the above link in it (using the “Link to” feature) that link will always point to back to the board “123” and widget ID 3074457352784569104.

When you duplicate a board, however, Miro loops through the original board and says, 'for every object on the board, were there any links to that object?' If so, it gets the ID of that object and when the new board is created, it takes the ID of the new object and the new board ID, and then updates the links on the board to include the new board in the link and new widget. So, when I duplicate the board in the screenshot above, my “sticky B in Board 1” sticky note has a new ID of: 3074457352784263309:

And the board ID and widget ID are updated. So when I look in the duplicated board and the “Link to” link I had in the board, the link was updated to include the new board and widget IDs:

The full link:

https://miro.com/app/board/o9J_456=/?moveToWidget=3074457352784263309&cot=14

@Charlotte Ward - So, if you want your links to automatically point to objects in the board, you should “Duplicate” your board rather than copy/paste.

Userlevel 7
Badge +12

@Charlotte Ward - If you don’t need to copy the whole board, e.g., you have a board that you want to put these linked-to objects into, then you could create a Custom Template of the of just those linked-object and then add that Custom Template to any other board that you wish. I just tested this and the board/widget IDs are all updated to match any board where the template is placed.

Unfortunately, the duplicate board does not update the links.  They point to the original board.   I just tested this out.  This is a pain, sigh.  

Userlevel 7
Badge +12

@Rossana Palummieri - I just created a new board called Board A. In that board, I made two sticky notes: Sticky 1 and Sticky 2. I linked Sticky 1 to Sticky 2.

Next, I

  1. Duplicated Board A and called the duplicate Board B. When I opened Board B and clicked on the link on Sticky 1, it moved/linked to Sticky 2 on the same board.
  2. Next I downloaded Board A as a .rtb file and uploaded it as a new board and called it Board C  - the links updated and worked as expected.
  3. Finally I created a custom template called Board A from Board A and then made a brand new board calling it Board D and added my custom template called Board A and the links works.

If one ore more of those scenarios are not working for you, please open a Miro support ticket so they can investigate.

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