Clone Solution issue

[PAM-thrive]

So silly me, I had assumed that "clone a solution" would, well you know, clone the solution making a copy of evereything that I could then edit without affecting the production system.

But no, instead what it appears to have done is renamed my solution as I cannot find the original. Why Microsoft decided to make this so difficult is beyond me! 

So my questions and panic is now this:

1) Is there just a simple way to undo what has been done?

2) Will all the flows  continue as before?

3) Can I just rename the solution by deleting the word - TEST that is now added to it (and the flow's inside as well)

4) is there just a very simple and fast way for me to create a copy of a solution without all this exporting and importing stuff that requires 1000 mouse clicks?

My end goal is just to simply make a copy of the production flows and powerapp, and re-aim them to point at the test database.

thanks

[DavidYack · Accepted solution]

1) Clone a solution rolls up the base solution and any patches into a v.next - it doesn't copy the solution like you found out

2) Yes, solutions just reference components cloning it did nothing to the components it contains

3)  Yes, click settings and rename to prior name

4)  Ideally you would have at least two or three environments and you wouldn't copy in the same environment you would promote from dev - > test - > production - I would start here where you will find some more details - https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/alm/

[PAM-thrive]

Thanks for your reply @DavidYack 

Unfortunately we use SQL Server on site, so I have to build around a On Prem Data Gateway.

It appears you can only have gateways in your default environment. So as soon as I try to develop in a test/dev environment I have no access to a data gateway to use my test SQL Server. 

This seems really idiotic to be quite honest.

[jcarville]

@PAM-thrive- literally just did the exact same thing as yourself from your original post.

Did you manage to find a workaround? I'm the same as you, I just wanted to create a copy of my solution in the same environment and rename from DEV to UAT

[Jaystechtips]

Yeah me too. This seems idiotic that cloning a solution simply renames it.

Unfortunately we only have one environment where I develop and deploy solutions. Thus this seems natural to just clone and rename a solution.

Ideally I would like different environments, but I'm not in a position to make decisions.

[VR-Scott]

Has this been solved?
I am having the same issue.

[testasdfasfsafa]

I cannot believe I lost my "backup" by using "clone"!!!  DAYS of work lost because this stupid tool doesn't have a normal version history. The miss-labelled clone option didn't clone as I would expect so I could create a "branch" while I experiment a different approach with my flow.  Now, I can't find my "clone" anymore...   **bleep** this "solution" approach is unnecessarily complicated.  Why can't we have simple version history like anything in Sharepoint?  So we can go back if we screw up...  Why can't we simply "disable" actions to allow quick experimentation?  I could go on and on... this tool is not ready for prime time and the speed of updates and changes is way too slow.  Perhaps, Microsoft is not really investing in Power Automate?

I'm so mad right now... 😞

[mckod]

I attempted to rename the solution ( a bunch of table linked to a model driven app). However, the form in the model driven app is now not connected and recording data like it was before. 

[Anonymous]

Thank you to you all for creating posts in this issue. I was looking for copying my solution but checking it first here. Glad, I read all your posts. So, is there any way to copy the solution in the same environment using different name OR not?  

[mckod]

Hey David, 

I followed your instructions, however i believe cloning may have messed with the relationships between the account and contact table. Despite relationships existing to the proper tables from the account and contact table, the company name is no longer returning but the contact name for user submission is. Is there away to check the guids between tables? 

[joelzehring]

UPDATE: See comment from @maxpower45255. Their comment correlates with my own recent experiences with life cycle management in Power Platform. Some of the confusion around this may be related to the fact that solutions in an environment are layered on top of one another. This is helpful because it allows solutions to reference flows in other solutions. Not so helpful for creating duplicate code for the purposes of quick and dirty versioning.

Thanks for posting and for all these comments. I was able to create a copy of a solution following these steps:

1. Export the solution.
2. Download the solution zip file.
3. Unzip the file.
4. Open the solution.xml in the text editor of your choice.
5. Modify the UniqueName field to something... unique. This is the field Power Automate looks at to determine whether to upgrade an existing solution or add a new one.
6. Zip the files into a new archive. They need to be in the root of the archive, not inside any other folders in the archive.
7. Import.

[maxpower45255]

@joelzehring Thanks for your post. But I tried your solution and it didn't work. Using your steps, it's true that you can duplicate a new solution. But that doesn't give you a replica of every object (flow, table, connections, etc) of what is in the solution. You only get the shell of the solution with pointers to the same objects. 

-I tested this by exporting a solution called "Sandbox Testing". It had 2 flows in it (Outlook365 inbox test, and Shared Inbox Testing New). 

-I changed the uniqueName to "Sandbox Testing cXML" and zipped it back up. Note: I'm in the process of testing something with cXML. That's why I named it "Sandbox Testing cXML". I could have named it anything.

-I reimported the solution and got two solutions. (see screenshot Solution Copy 1). 

-I edited both flows in the "Sandbox Testing cXML" solution by just renaming the flows and adding "cXML" to their names. 

-The flows are also renamed in the original solution ("Sandbox Testing"). See screenshot "Solution copy 2"). 

- I also checked and the flow GUIDs are the same when you edit both. 

I hope Microsoft comes up with a solution to this. It's very difficult to be productive when you can't take advantage of code reuse. If anyone has figured out a clever way to achieve a true clone of a solution, please reply to this post. 

Solution Copy 1.jpg

Solution Copy 2.jpg

[CETSAT-SQ]

Joel - you are a hero, I hope you find an abandoned truck full of free beer - you deserve it! 

[testasdfasfsafa]

There are so many flaws, design locic, UX with solutions and Power Automate, it makes you wonder if there are any executive or product owner involved... hyper frustrating.   And, the speed of development and fixes is so SLOW!!  Please hire people from the Power BI team with monthly releases!

[dreamweaver9962]

Hi @maxpower45255 have you got a solution for this issue ?

[NaufalWahika]

Is there any update or future roadmap regarding this? I am facing the same issue where I need to duplicate a solution but repoint it to another endpoint. Right now what I'm doing is copying the flow using "Save as" button and importing it to the new solution but some flows are using child flows and is unable to do that. It's really frustrating because I have to rebuild the flow now.