Aurora users: Still cloning? We hope not, that would be like taking digital photos but then printing them out on photo paper and taping them to addenda instead of manipulating and inserting them directly into your reports.
One of the consensus favorite new features of Aurora users is the new SmartMerge function. You can still "clone" in Aurora, but that will overwrite absolutely eveything in your current report with the old one. Better to use the robust SmartMerge tool to save yourself time and typing. Here's how.
To use the SmartMerge feature, just hit File, New, and hit the Merge button on the tool bar. Select just portions of an old form from which you want to take some part – an addendum, a neighborhood description, site comments – or you can select "mark all" with a click. Then choose either to merge selected data and forms from the old report, forms and/or addenda only, or clone (overwrite) in full. Your new report is populated with the data/forms addenda from the old assignment that you've chosen.
When you think about it for about five seconds, this is the only way "cloning" is at all useful when you want to merge from an old (pre-November, 2005) Fannie form. Makes you wonder why no other software company lets you do it this way!
The ability to import just parts you need from old reports, rather than everything, saves you untold time over a number of assignments. Take a spin if you haven't, starting with the online training videos we have available here.
