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How do I copy action steps from one Zap to another, transfer Zaps as an XML file, and call Zaps a subroutine?


Userlevel 3
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As my understanding of zaps has deepened and as their modules have become more full-featured, I find myself creating sections of zaps over & over again - differing in details, perhaps, but largely identical.

Would anyone besides me find it helpful to be able to copy multiple steps from one zap to another? How about the ability to export/import zaps as XML that we could edit/combine externally?

Also, what about the ability of one zap to call another as a subroutine?

If enough of us want these things, perhaps we could get the attention of product management.

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Best answer by nicksimard 1 June 2020, 23:50

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Userlevel 7
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Hi @RisoSystems! Welcome to the Zapier Community. I’d personally love to see all of the things you suggested :)

We’ve got some feature requests that match yours so I’ve gone ahead and added your vote to those. I can’t give any sort of guarantee that they’ll be added, or provide any sort of timeline, but know that you’re not the first to ask for something like this!

Userlevel 3
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Thanks, Jesse - it’s nice to know someone is listening. And it’s also not a surprise that this feature has been requested before.

Joey Riso

Userlevel 3

You can add my vote to this too.

Userlevel 7
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@msandrew I’ve gone ahead and added your vote there as well :)

Userlevel 1

Ich bin seit gestern neu hier und vermisse bereits das Kopieren eines Zaps, um dieses Duplikat dann leicht abzuändern. Darum hoffe ich wie ihr, dass dies bald umgesetzt werden kann.

Userlevel 7
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Hi @VWO Thanks for your message, I’ve also added your vote for the ability to copy and paste steps between Zaps :) 

I would also love this. Its annoying to have to rebuild almost the same ZAP again. A good example is that I have a ZAP that updates a spreadsheet when a Calendly appointment is made and I need to also update the spreadsheet if the appointment is cancelled. The ZAP is almost identical except with a different trigger.

Userlevel 7
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Hi @DavidH Thanks for your feedback on this, I’ve passed on your thoughts to the team.

Userlevel 1

I would love to see this as well. would save so much time, which is in essence what Zapier is supposed to do.

Userlevel 1

The ability to create a zapier “subroutine” would be a huge benefit and I’d really love to see that first. Ability to copy/paste a set of steps between zaps is also helpful but less critical.

Userlevel 7
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Hi @InsuranceBeaux @sarabura! We’ve heard our users loud and clear. I don’t have an ETA at this time but this is definitely on our radar ;)

Userlevel 1

thanks for the feedback.  I had to get something so I setup the parse with Parsey.

I want to add my vote. I really want to be able to copy/paste zaps or duplicate and drag into position.

Userlevel 7
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Hi @cadrock - I’ve added your vote to this request as well!

Userlevel 7
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Hi @RisoSystems 

For subroutines, check this out...

 

Userlevel 3
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I attempted to set one up - I built the sub-zap then started to build a test zap to call it and practice passing parameters. But when I tried to add the Sub-Zap (Call action) I got error an error message over and over again: “Disallowed selected_api.”

Sub-Zap is apparently very much Beta and not ready for prime-time. Maybe when it’s finished.

Userlevel 1

Please add my vote to this feature, as well. Complex step sequences especially in paths are very common and so very tedious to redo if there are a large number of fields to update. This  is typical in database interactions.

Userlevel 7
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Hi @george.barlow!

I’ve added your vote for this feature as well :) 

we need this please!!!!

Userlevel 7
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Hey @canadaspaceman,

Happy to confirm that we’ve added your vote for this feature as well. We’ll be in touch by email, and will update this thread, as soon as that becomes possible! :) 

Userlevel 1

+1 for this. Probably the single biggest feature missing from zapier at the moment.

I have zaps that are 40+ steps long and often want to re-use parts, so single and batch copy/paste of steps, both between different zaps and the within the same zap, would be super useful.

Yes, I can duplicate a whole zap to partially get round this. But it still means trimming out the bits I don’t want afterwards. And, once I’ve started building a new zap, and realise I want to use a chunk from another one, this duplicate option doesn’t help me.

Userlevel 7
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Thanks for sharing such thoughtful feedback, @Switch! I’ve added your vote to this request as well. 🙂

Userlevel 1

I too have been doing a lot of duplicate steps with slight changes to suit each trigger. A cut and paste option would be the highest priority for me ATM. Some of my zaps have up to 3 paths to cater for different data brought in from Google sheets and are quite complex. I use the clone tool to copy the whole zap then put the old copy on one screen and the new copy on the other then work through each step. It is very tedious work and would be so much easier with a cut and paste.

Please add a couple of votes for me... 

Userlevel 7
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I appreciate you sharing your thoughts, @lostmoney! Your votes been added as well!🙂

Userlevel 7
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@RisoSystems 

Check out this related topic:

 

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