Copying & repeating shifts
Copy and paste a shift into another slot, repeat it across the week, duplicate it as you drag, stack a second shift in a cell, and create a timesheet from a shift.
Once one shift is set up the way you want it, you rarely need to build the next one from scratch. This guide covers the quick ways to reuse a shift — copy and paste, repeat across the week, duplicate while dragging, stacking a second shift in a cell, and turning a shift into a timesheet.
Who this is for
Owners and managers using the Shiftly web platform to run your business.
Before you start
- You're an owner or a manager with access to the location you're rostering.
- Open Roster from the main navigation and pick the location at the top left.
- These actions all start from a shift that already exists — see Creating & editing shifts if you need to make one first.
The shift menu
Right-click any shift card to open its menu. The copy, paste, repeat and timesheet actions all live here.
A row is greyed out when it doesn't apply: Paste shift only lights up once you've copied something, and Create timesheet for shift is only available on a shift that has a staff member assigned.
Everything you copy, paste or repeat lands as a draft (unpublished) — staff aren't notified until you publish. Build them all up, then send them out together in Publishing a roster.
Copy and paste a shift
Copy the shift
Right-click the shift you want to reuse and choose Copy shift. Nothing changes on the grid yet — the shift is now on your clipboard, ready to drop wherever you like. You can paste it as many times as you need.
Paste it into another slot
Right-click the cell you want it in — a different day, a different position, or a different person's row — and choose Paste shift. Shiftly drops in a copy, keeping the same start time, end time and length but moving it to the day you pasted onto.
Who and what the copy is for follows the row you paste into: in View by position it takes that row's position and keeps the original person; in View by staff it goes to that row's person and keeps the original position.
Repeat a shift across the week
Repeat saves you copying and pasting day by day. Right-click the shift and choose one of:
- Repeat shift on the next day — drops a copy on the following day at the same time.
- Repeat shift for rest of the week — drops a copy onto every remaining day of the week, through Sunday. It only fills the days after the shift you started from, never earlier ones.
Each repeat is an independent draft, so you can delete any one you don't want without touching the others.
Copying, pasting and repeating all follow the same clash rules as creating a shift. If a copy would land on a time the person already works — at any of your locations — or on approved leave, Shiftly skips that copy and shows "Staff member is already assigned to a shift at <location> from <start> to <end>." When you repeat across the week, only the days that clash are skipped — the rest are still added.
Copy while you drag
Dragging a shift to a new cell normally moves it. To leave the original where it is and drop a copy instead, hold Alt (⌥ Option on a Mac) while you drag, then release over the target cell. The copy is re-timed to the day you drop it on and added as a draft.
Stack a second shift in a cell
A cell can hold more than one shift (a split across two roles, or a second person in the same slot). When you drag onto a cell that already has a shift, watch the lower edge of the existing card: a drop line appears below it. Release there to add a shift rather than replace the one that's already there.
- Drag a staff member from the tray onto that lower zone and the Create a shift form opens for the new shift.
- Drag an existing shift onto it and that shift moves in alongside the first.
Drop over the middle of a card instead and you'll replace or reassign it — see Creating & editing shifts for assigning and replacing.
Create a timesheet from a shift
If someone worked a shift but never clocked in, you can turn the rostered shift straight into a timesheet. Right-click the shift and choose Create timesheet for shift (available only when the shift has an assigned person). Shiftly builds a timesheet from the shift's own times and breaks, links it to the shift, and confirms with Timesheet created.
The new timesheet starts as pending, ready for you to adjust the times and approve it in Reviewing timesheets.
Related
Creating & editing shifts
Add a shift, set its details, and move or assign it by dragging.
Using the scheduler
Find your way around the weekly roster grid.
Publishing a roster
Send your drafts to the team once the week is ready.
Reviewing timesheets
Check, edit and approve the timesheets your shifts produce.