Duplicate Settings Catalog Policy in Intune

In this blog post, I will show you the steps to duplicate Settings catalog policy in Intune. Duplicating a settings catalog policy in Microsoft Intune is the quickest way to create a new profile that is almost identical to an existing one. This is especially useful when you want to test a small change (for example, one extra setting) without modifying a production profile.

When you duplicate a settings catalog policy, it will have the same settings as the original policy but without the assignments.

This feature was introduced with Intune service release 2111. The duplicate context menu option, available for a settings catalog type of device configuration profile, duplicates an existing profile, creates a copy of it, and saves you all the trouble of manually selecting each setting.

Duplicate Policy Platform Support

There are various types of device configuration profiles within the Intune admin center. However, it’s important to note that, currently, you can only duplicate a device configuration profile of the Settings Catalog type for below platforms:

• Windows
• iOS
• macOS
• Android

What Happens When You Duplicate Settings Catalog Policy?

Duplicating an Intune Settings Catalog policy creates a copy of the profile. This is particularly useful when creating a new policy with identical settings to the original one. After duplicating a Settings Catalog policy, you can modify it, rename it, and assign it to a different Entra security group containing users or devices.

• Copies the same settings and configured values.
• Copies scope tags.
• Does not copy assignments (you must reassign).

If you want to perform significant changes in the new settings catalog policy, then it’s better to create a brand-new policy rather than copying the existing one. This is mostly suited for the scenarios when you would like to test one or two changes in the policy before making a change in the production policy.

Method 1: Using Duplicate Option

To show an example/demo of duplicating a settings catalog policy, I would use an existing device configuration profile called Prevent Registry Editor access for All Users. This policy blocks registry editor access for all users on target devices.

• Sign in to the Intune admin center > Devices > Configuration.
• Find the profile you want to copy and click on the ellipses context menu.
• Select the Duplicate option to create a copy of the Settings Catalog profile.

• You will see a Duplicate policy window after you click on the Duplicate option. Provide a unique name and helpful description of this policy.
• Click on the Save button to create a copy of the profile.

You will also find some information on the duplicate policy window, which says, Duplicating a policy creates a new and distinct policy containing the same settings and values as the original policy. Assignments will not be copied.

Note

• After duplicate policy is created, you can find it on under Devices > Configuration page.

Method 2: Using Export/Import JSON Method

Microsoft supports exporting a settings catalog policy to JSON and importing it to create a new policy. This is excellent for creating copies across environments (test to prod patterns).

• Sign in to the Intune admin center > Devices > Configuration.
• Find the profile you want to copy and click on the ellipses context menu.
• Select the Export option to export the profile to a JSON file.

• Then click on + Create > Import Policy and browse to the exported JSON file. Provide a new name for the policy and click Save.

Recommended Operational Practices

• Naming convention: Use a predictable structure so the relationship between source and copy is obvious, for example:
  • WIN – Baseline – BitLocker – v1
  • WIN – Baseline – BitLocker – v1 – Pilot
  • WIN – Baseline – BitLocker – v1 – Ring1
  • WIN – Baseline – BitLocker – v1 – Ring2

• Avoid policy conflicts when creating variations: Conflicts occur when the same setting is targeted with different values across profiles. Review the settings and assignments to avoid conflicts.

Unable to Duplicate Settings Catalog Policy

If you are unable to duplicate a Settings Catalog policy, it is likely because you selected a device configuration profile that is not based on the Settings Catalog. The Duplicate feature is exclusive to Settings Catalog profiles. The example below shows that when you click the ellipsis next to a device configuration profile created using templates, the Duplicate option is not available in the menu.

FAQs