Copy content items from an earlier edition

Updated 07 Nov 2023

After you copy a course to a new edition or new version, you can selectively copy custom content items from an earlier edition when you open the new course. Copy items from the earlier course as often as you want. You can also import custom assignments from the previous MyLab course.

The copied items show in a new menu item, Copied from [old course ID].

Mastering courses copied to new edition: The following steps do not apply to Mastering standard assignment content. All Mastering assignment content automatically updates with changes for the new edition, except for any assigned Dynamic Study Modules and custom My Items. Assignment due dates match those in the original course.

  1. Open the new course from the My Courses page.
  2. Select Copy Items Now. If you don't see Copy Items Now on the Course Home page, select Manage Course from the course menu then select Copy Items from Prior Edition.

    The prior course's name (Copy Items From) and course ID show the Available Items list.

  3. If you uploaded a school logo to the prior course, Include School Logo is automatically selected. If you don’t want the logo from the prior course in the new course, clear the Include School Logo check box.
  4. Select Copy for each custom item you want. Clear the check box for each item you don't want.
    • Copy Items shows the number of selected items. For example, Copy Items: 4
    • Items you tagged as My Content in the prior course are selected.
    • You can copy these kinds of menu items: rich text content pages, external website content pages, and uploaded document content pages.
    • Items not available for copy include Gradebook, eTextbook, Course Home, Course Roster, and Document Sharing.
  5. Expand folders to select or clear Copy for subitems.
  6. Select Copy Items.

    The school logo from the earlier edition immediately shows above the course menu if you chose to include it.

  7. Select Copy More Items or Check Copy Status, or close the confirmation message.
  8. After copying all the items you need, select Main Menu.
    • The copied items show at the bottom of your course menu (and also on the Edit Course Menu page) under a new item, Copied from [old course ID].
    • Any uploaded content files or attachments linked to from the selected items also copy automatically to Manage Files.

Next, you can view and integrate your copied content into your course.

  1. Select Manage Course from the main menu.
  2. Select Copy Items Status.
    • Copy Status for each job is Complete, In Progress, or Fail.
    • If complete, a new item Copied from [old course ID] shows in the course menu.

  1. Expand Course Tools or Instructor Tools in the course menu.
  2. Select Assignment Manager to open the Homework/Test Manager.
  3. Select Create Assignment and Import/Copy Assignments from another course.
  4. Select Convert and Import assignments from courses using a previous edition of this book or related books with similar coverage then select Next.
  5. Select Convert and Import assignments from my courses and select Next.
  6. Select the previous edition of the textbook from Book, a course name from Course, then select Next.
  7. Choose assignments to import.
  8. To include assignment settings, such as start and end dates and review options, select Import Assignment Settings.
  9. Select Import.

    A summary page lists the imported assignments and custom questions.

  10. Select OK.
  11. To update associations to custom questions in the new edition, select Manage Custom Questions from More Tools.
  • Select Copied from [old course ID] in the course menu, and then select each subitem to see its content.

    If the name of a copied customized item has the same name as one that already exists, “-1” is appended to the copied item’s name (for example, Course Documents-1).

  • Rearrange these menu items in the course menu to integrate them into your new course.

  • Change the hidden setting for each item you want to display in the student view.

    All subitems within Copied from [old course ID] are hidden from students by default.