Template Clone Function does not work

I cloned an album template and it works as expected.
But in case I make a change for any token in this cloned template (e.g. in the section Thumbnail Grid / Metadata Display / Metadata One or Two / Token or in the section Presentation / Captions / Tokens) my changes are ignored. This is also the case if I delete the token entries (from the initial template that has been the basis for the clone) these token informations are still shown. Looks like that tokens can not be changed in the cloned template and are still there from the initial template.

If I make the token change in the original template it is working fine - but that doesn’t help because I want different token settings in only one album by means of a cloned template.

Only Workaround is to set up a new album template from scratch using all the settings I have done in the original Template and only change the token settings). Not really a workaround … I need the clone functionality also working in case of making token changes …

Any idea?

Try clearing template cache

Hi Rod, Thx for advice - but I already did this :frowning:

What do you mean by your changes are ignored?

Does the token you entered remain in the template or is it reverting to what it originally was?

Are you applying the cloned template to an existing album? If so, is this a Lightroom published album?
If it is, did you remember to republish?

If this is for an album published with Backlight Publisher, are you using allowed tokens? Not all the tokens available for Lightroom Publisher will work for Backlight Publisher.

Yes, the Token in the Template remains.
Yes, applied to an existing Album, LR published
Yes, republishing took place

I suppose you also tried clearing browser cache.

Is the token spelled correctly? I think they all start with an uppercase letter.
Can you post a screen shot?

Yes, clear cache has been done


Using the exact same token in the original template it works fine.

{Videografic} is not listed as a supported token. Try removing that and see if things work.

Hi @dvdfan001, this is strange. Can you please message me a Backlight admin login so that I can look into this?

(Videografic) is free text, not a token …
Ben: I will send you a private message with the necessary credentials

Perhaps someone could make a short test on your end: random template with {Title} as used token. Creating a clone of this template. Changing {Title} into another token. Applying the cloned template to an existing album, republishing a photo in this LR published album. Most likely you will see that you still get the {Title} Information from the initial template…

I see that now (after squinting) :wink:

Just tested. It’s working as expected for me.

mh, Thx for testing. Hopefully Ben can figure it out why it is not working on my end…

Hi @dvdfan001, thanks for the access. I’ve been able to edit the tokens without issue.
For example, editing ‘test’ at https://videografic.de/backlight/designer/design_template/27/view/#thumbailgrid changing Metadata One > Tokens to Title: {Title} {DescriptionWriter} and then reloading that page showed that the token had remained as Title: {Title} {DescriptionWriter}.

I have since changed it back to {Title} {DescriptionWriter}. Does changing it like described not work for you?

Hi Ben, Thanks for your help but I think we have a misunderstanding. The specified token remains - that not the problem.

The problem is that the album using this cloned template (with the changed token compared to the token in the original template) seems to ignore this special change (only the token related changes! - all other changes in the clone work as expected)

So the pictures in the gallery still show the token in the original template

one further note
I changed the token in the original template, make a clone and link this cloned template to the gallery which should show other tokens. Works as expected. But if I change the original template to the other token settings I had in this template before - then the gallery which should show the changed token (AND IS STILL LINKED TO THE CLONED TEMPLATE WITH THE CHANGED TOKEN) shows now again the token from the original template .
Looks like that the gallery linked to the cloned template always uses the token from the original template :frowning:

The tokens in your original and clones templates are very similar. I suggest changing the Metadata One token on the cloned template to something that is clearly different from the original and then republishing. For example adding Title: before {Title}.
If your photos do not have values for {DescriptionWriter} then the output will be no different.

I found the solution
The link to the cloned template I did in the BL interface

But this is not enough in case it is a LR published album. Although the link to the cloned template is also shown in the LR “edit Album” window it is still necessary to explicitly choose the cloned template from within LR as well – now it is working fine …

Yes, a cloned template makes a copy. If you want an album using the original template to use the new template then you need to change the template it is using by editing the album in LR.