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Does Microsoft Planner Copy Assignments When Duplicating a Plan?

WPS Content Manager Sep 27, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user wants to know if task assignments are preserved when duplicating a plan or copying tasks in Microsoft Planner.

Can Microsoft Planner Copy Assignments When Duplicating a Plan?

Product: Microsoft Planner
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Duplicating an existing plan to reuse its structure and expecting the assigned team members to carry over to the new tasks.
Observed behavior: Assignments are preserved when copying tasks within the same plan, but copying tasks to new plans or interacting with Premium plans results in lost assignment data.

Before you start

Verify whether you are using a Basic or Premium Microsoft Planner license, as this dictates the extent of copying limitations across different plans.

Solution 1Recommended

Understanding Planner's Assignment Copying Limitations

This outlines exactly when task assignments are retained and when they are dropped during the copying process.

While Microsoft Planner allows users to duplicate plans to save time on project setup, there are strict limitations regarding task assignments. When you duplicate an entire plan, the task assignees are not transferred to the new board.

This is an intentional design by Microsoft to prevent accidental notifications to users who might not be part of the new Microsoft 365 Group. Furthermore, interacting with Premium plans introduces stricter boundaries.

Copying within the same plan

To copy a task within the same board and keep assignments, click the three dots (...) on a task card, select 'Copy task', and ensure the 'Assignments' checkbox is checked before clicking 'Copy'.

Duplicating to a new plan

If you are duplicating an entire plan via the 'Copy plan' option in the board's dropdown menu, be prepared to manually reassign users to each task on the newly created board.

Handling Premium plans

Note that copying or moving tasks to or from Premium plans is completely unsupported. You will need to manually recreate these tasks if moving between Basic and Premium tiers.

Understanding Planner's Assignment Copying Limitations

Future Updates: Microsoft frequently updates Planner features. Always check the official Microsoft 365 roadmap to see if cross-plan assignment copying has been introduced.

Solution 2

Submit a Feature Request to Microsoft

Provide feedback to Microsoft to encourage the development of cross-plan assignment copying.

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If limitations in Microsoft Planner complicate your project setup, consider tracking your tasks with WPS Office. As a free, lightweight, and highly compatible Office alternative, WPS Spreadsheets offers extensive project management templates—allowing you to copy, share, and track assignments without tiered licensing restrictions.

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3. Customize and Share: Customize the columns to fit your team's needs, easily duplicate the sheet retaining all assignees, and share it with your team.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why do assignments disappear when I duplicate a Microsoft Planner board?

Microsoft Planner intentionally clears task assignments when duplicating a full plan to a new group. This prevents users from receiving unexpected notifications or being mistakenly assigned to tasks in a group they may not have access to.

Can I copy tasks from a Basic Planner plan to a Premium plan?

No, Microsoft Planner currently does not support copying or moving tasks to or from Premium plans. You will need to recreate the tasks manually if you are migrating to a Premium plan.

Is there a workaround to bulk assign users in a newly duplicated plan?

While Planner has no native bulk-assign feature for new plans, advanced users can utilize Microsoft Power Automate to create a custom flow that duplicates a plan and assigns specific users to tasks based on predefined triggers.

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