Why templates are better than duplicating project

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If you have been using the Free version of Asana for a while, you probably knew that you can compensate the lack of Template feature with a simple project duplication. So, now that you have access to Templates (congrats on the upgrade), you might be wondering: what are the benefits of using Templates versus duplicating a project?

:one: The main benefit is that a duplication would duplicate the existing state of a project, so if you duplicate a project that “lived”, it probably has completed tasks, attachments… But if you keep a clean version of the project, you might be ok.

:two: The second benefit is a big one: with duplication, you will be put as a collaborator on every single task, sending your way a hell storm of notifications :scream:

:three: Finally, by using duplication you are missing out on features Templates have to offer. For example, you can define relative dates. You can also pre-add a project in a portfolio. And probably more features to come!

Convinced? Did I miss anything?

:fr: Version Française

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Hi @Maddie_Elliott,

No, sorry, the new Project Templates 2.0 are available starting at the Premium level but not Free.

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Hi Bastien,

All interesting points; thanks for sharing! Just wanted to clarify - what do you mean by ‘pre-add a project in a template’? Could you please explain a bit there?

Thank youuuu

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I meant “pre-add a project in a portfolio” sorry

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Downside to templates: making updates. We’re still working out the kinks in our “template” and it’s easier to do it in a clean project that we duplicate as needed. Another downside in both templates and duplicating projects: the update doesn’t backfill to other projects. I understand why, but it means we have a boatload of different versions of projects floating around for the same kind of work. Any advice on how to resolve?

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My mini workaround for projects that are on an older version of the template: (task-wise, at least)

  1. Create a new project based on the updated template
  2. Name it something silly :clown_face:
  3. Select the tasks I need from the silly, new template-project
  4. Tab+P, or add them to the old project I want to be updated
  5. Remove the selected tasks from the silly new-template project
  6. Delete everything from the silly project and the project itself.

I have also created templates of just Sections that I can take from and Tab+P them into Projects as needed.

signed, Mychelle

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I don’t really have a solution for you sorry…

@anon45197529 are you describing what I call task factories? 💡 Templates can also be "task factories"

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Thanks, Mychelle – Is there a way to easily bulk add tasks like this to multiple projects? We have over 50 projects that could benefit when we add groups of tasks like this…

Thanks!

-Mandy

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FYI - You cannot paste subtasks into an existing template. You have to paste the subtasks into the task BEFORE you create the template.

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Templates still feel very much like a work in progress. There are some fairly obviously lacking features that I am surprised have not been implemented yet. One of the big drawbacks with using templates as opposed to duplicating projects is that the links and project brief on the project overview cannot be saved to a template. It’s a whole feature of a project that cannot be replicated within a template format

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#following

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@Krista_Nye_Nicholas to follow a post you can use the bell icon at the bottom of the post and click on “Watch” :slight_smile:

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Hi, community!
Does anyone know why after deleting a project (that was been duplicated by mistake) the tasks inside that project still go duplicate even after the project is deleted?
I need it to stop duplicating :slightly_smiling_face:
Thanks!

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@IsabelG, Can you create a separate topic/post for this since it’s not germane to the current one? Thanks!

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I do not know if there are more recent posts on the topic of duplicating projects vs templates.

I have just started setting up a new project, where I started out with a project template (one for each training course that we offer). I quickly realized that project templates where not the way to go, because …

  1. Each time you create a new project you have to delete all the views you do not whish to use (board, workflow, …)
  2. You have to manually add views like notes.
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Yes project templates don’t include saved views. See Project templates V2: what we gain, what we lose which should be up to date

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Although I agree this can be improved I’d still reccommend using templates as they can serve as a clear single source of truth, which I think is worth a couple of manual operations.

For a detailed look into how to utilise project templates I’ve created this topic: Leveraging project templates - a deep dive

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