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How do I copy an existing table but with no data/rows?

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Posted on by futr_vision

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I have a table that I would like to duplicate but without the data. The idea is this will be the new table that my form writes too but I need to test it without affecting the current tables.

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Michael E. Gernaey 53,968 Super User 2026 Season 2 on at

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Hi,

What is the table build on, Dataverse?

Either way there are no Actions on the connectors for Creating a Table. You would need to use the HTTP Connector, to call the Dataverse API, to create a new Table. There is no copy/paste/clone right now. So you would have to pass in a properly formatted Schema Message to make it happen.

Plus I would avoid creating separate tables that aren't the actual table to do your testing (for a slew of reasons). I would suggest setting up a Dev or Test environment.

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Michael Gernaey MCT | MCSE | MCP | Self-Contractor| Ex-Microsoft
https://gernaeysoftware.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelgernaey

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futr_vision 831 Moderator on at

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Hmm. Ideally I don't want to replicate every single table the app uses for a couple of reasons. First, unless there is an easy way to clone all of the tables, I prefer not have to. Second, if there is change to the production table now I need to maintain both production and dev. Maybe I am thinking about this in the wrong way. If I set up a dev environment is it easy to move the app and Dataverse tables to production?

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Michael E. Gernaey 53,968 Super User 2026 Season 2 on at

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Hi,

Yes its much easier. Your Dev env should start out as a replica or your Production.

As you make changes in Dev, you want to propogate those to Production. the best way to do that is by having a dev ENV. Definitely dont create extra tables in production to do testing. It's a sure-fire guaranteed way to screw up your production.

You dont clone stuff like you are thinking.
1. Create a backup of production
2. Create another environment
3. Restore your backup of Prod ONTO your dev environment.. Super-fast process, all done from the Admin center in Power Apps

Now you can even KEEP the data into it, so when you test you are testing against production size data.

Cheers
If you like my answer, please Mark it as Resolved, and give it a thumbs up, so it can help others
Thank You
Michael Gernaey MCT | MCSE | MCP | Self-Contractor| Ex-Microsoft
https://gernaeysoftware.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelgernaey

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futr_vision 831 Moderator on at

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I'm not sure how to move the backup to the dev environment. The production backup doesn't appear as an option in the restore options for the dev environment. There is a copy option for environments but, again, the new developer environment is not an available option.

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Michael E. Gernaey 53,968 Super User 2026 Season 2 on at

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Hi,

This would not be a Copy operation. This is a Backup and Restore.

Question: Did you create the dev environment in the same Tenant?

Can you please follow these instructions here: Back up and restore environments - Power Platform | Microsoft Learn

Cheers
If you like my answer, please Mark it as Resolved, and give it a thumbs up, so it can help others
Thank You
Michael Gernaey MCT | MCSE | MCP | Self-Contractor| Ex-Microsoft
https://gernaeysoftware.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelgernaey

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futr_vision 831 Moderator on at

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Yeah. The new dev environment is not available. They should both be in the same tenant. Could this be a permission issue?

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futr_vision 831 Moderator on at

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Maybe this is the issue. By DEv environment should I be creating a sandbox environment instead of a developer environment?

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futr_vision 831 Moderator on at

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Hmm. The tenant id is in the URL of the environment correct? If so the dev and production environments are on different tenants. How do I either move the dev environment to the correct tenant or create a dev environment in the same tenant as production?

Actually, it looks like the environment ID is in the URL and not the tenant. So much for using search to answer my question

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Michael E. Gernaey 53,968 Super User 2026 Season 2 on at

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Hi,

About to leave for my 5k. When I get back I will help you.

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futr_vision 831 Moderator on at

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Thanks. Definitely looking forward to figuring this out.

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