Duplicating data is especially handy if you’re building an app that logs recurring entries, think exercise logs or to-do lists, where yesterday’s activities usually repeat the next day. This walkthrough shows you a simple, reliable way to let users copy their past data forward with just a tap.
Let’s dive in with a simple example using three key screens and basic data collections.
Understand the App Structure
Start with three primary screens:
Home: Displays a list of all tasks.
List Detail: Shows the consolidated tasks.
Task Detail: Provides a detailed view of each task.
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Set Up Data Collections
Create two collections: User and Task.
Give Task properties like name (text), description (text), and a complete status.
Set a relationship where one user can have multiple tasks. This keeps things simple and flexible.
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Add a Duplicate Icon to Task Detail
On your Task Detail screen, add an intuitive icon, for example, a copy symbol, to trigger duplication.
Text components with title & nam
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Configure the Duplicate Action
Add a create action to "Duplicate Icon", map fields from the current task to the new one using Magic Text.
Attach a Create Task action to the icon.
Use Magic Text to copy values from the current record into the new record fields. Copy the exact name, description, and completed status from the current task. - Assign the logged-in user to the new task.
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Differentiate Duplicates
To avoid confusion when names repeat, append “Copy” (or something similar) to the duplicated task’s name. This lets users spot new copies at a glance.
Test the Workflow
Preview your app, try duplicating a task, and check the list to see your new entry appear.
You can also confirm by looking directly in your database to ensure everything copies over as expected.
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Duplicating tasks lets users quickly reuse data and reduces tedious re-entry. This approach fits right into apps that need fast, repeatable data logging. Try setting this up, it’s easy to implement and keeps your app efficient for daily use.
Learn More
When mapping fields with MagicText, make sure your action is connected to the correct current record or the values may not copy over as expected.
You can find examples of apps using list-based workflows by checking out our app templates.
A common way to extend this pattern is to add a confirmation dialog before the duplicate action fires, so users don't create copies by accident.
You can also use automatic fields within a Create action to pre-fill values like creation date or status without requiring MagicText.
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