Overview

When creating a new body type, you can copy settings from another body type in Administration. The Copy Body Type feature enables you to copy existing workflow definitions from one body type to another to save time when the new type will hold many of the same characteristics of an existing one. 

Instead of entering that information from scratch, you can copy data from an existing body type to the new one. This includes agenda definitions, workflow actions, agenda settings, and advanced settings. Adjustments can then be made in the Work Flow Control section of Administration.

  1. Create a new body Type as you normally would. From the left menu, click Government Bodies.

  1. Your existing body types are listed under the Main tab, along with the major details connected to these records in Legistar. Click New to create a new body type. 

  1. Enter the basic required details for the body type, including the name, mover and seconder selection, whether this type can control the file, and whether it should show on the web. Ad Hoc Title is optional. See Adding New Bodies and Body Types for more information on these details.

  1. Click Save.

  1. Right-click Government Bodies on the left and select Refresh.

  1. The new body type now displays under the Bodies list. You must now create bodies or subcommittees to classify by this type. Think of the body type as a category under which you'll create a type or multiple types. The body type will control workflow definitions for the bodies associated with it. 
    Note: When you add a new body, it is extremely important to grant security groups the right to view and edit files and meetings for the body. Otherwise, users won’t see the body in the system. See Adding a New Body for instructions.

  1. After you've created bodies or subcommittees to classify under your body type, right-click Work Flow Control and refresh this section as well. 

  1. Under Work Flow Control, click the new body type you just created.

  1. Rather than entering information from scratch, go to the Copy Body Type data from drop-down menu to select the body type whose characteristics you'd like to apply to the new body type. You'll be able to change what you need after copying that data over. 

  1. Click Copy. The system may take a few moments as it copies all the data over for Agenda Definitions and Workflow Actions.

  1. Click Okay in the warning box after confirming you're overwriting the correct body type's settings.

  1. Refresh Work Flow Control again and then click the new body type again to view the settings that have copied over.  

  1. Click Save.
  1. You can now make any necessary changes within Work Flow Control. For example, you can remove an agenda section that is not necessary for this body, or change workflow actions for the file types. Any meeting bodies you create under this type will hold the characteristics you've copied and then edited.