> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.qrtub.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Creating a New Collection From a Backup

> Spinning up a brand-new Collection from a backup file — the preview step, the automatic (Copy) name, and why this is QRtub's closest thing to duplicating a Collection

A backup file can create a brand-new Collection instead of restoring into an existing one. On the
Collections list, choose **Import Backup** (next to the create button), pick a `.json` backup, and
confirm.

Nothing existing is touched, which makes this the safe way to use a backup file.

## The preview step

Before anything is created, a preview shows you what is in the file:

* The name the new Collection will get
* How many fields it defines
* The page template it carries, if any
* The description, if the file has one

Confirm and the Collection is created in your currently active team, then you land on its settings
so you can rename it and look over what came across. If you want it in a different team, switch
teams first.

## The name gets " (Copy)"

The new Collection is named after the one in the backup with `" (Copy)"` appended — `Heavy
Equipment (Copy)`. This is automatic and not optional, so renaming is usually the first thing you
do. Nothing is derived from a Collection's name, so renaming costs nothing.

## This is how you duplicate a Collection

There is no **Duplicate** button anywhere in QRtub. This flow is the equivalent, in two steps:

1. Export a backup of the Collection you want to copy.
2. Import that file here.

The copy arrives with the same field schema, the same details, the same link-generation and scan
settings, and the same page design as the original.

**It does not arrive with the original's Items** — Collection backups never contain Items. If you
want the Items too, export them as CSV from the source Collection's grid and import that CSV into
the copy.

## One thing to check on the copy

If the source Collection built ID-based Links from a *free-form* Item ID mask (a prefix and suffix
with no digit count), the copy is created carrying the same affixes — and a free-form mask can only
belong to one Collection per team. Creating the copy does not complain, but the first time you save
its link-generation settings you will be asked to pick different affixes. Reserved numbered
patterns are exempt: several Collections can share one. See [Building an Item ID
Mask](/collections/item-id-mask).

## Related

* [Exporting a Collection Backup](/collections/export-backup)
* [Importing a Collection Backup](/collections/import-backup)
* [Starter Templates](/collections/starter-templates)
* [Building an Item ID Mask](/collections/item-id-mask)