Some of our regular events are scene-based, i.e., I create an input (usually of type Colour with the content on the individual layers) for each particular scene. To avoid having to configure those scene inputs all the time from scratch, I've some scene template inputs prepared. To create a particular event-specific scene input, I now just clone the suitable scene template input and do some post-adjustments.

Unfortunately, in contrast to OBS Studio where the nifty Source Copy plugin exists, in vMix, as far as I know, it is not easy to really clone an input -- at least not without side-effects:

1. The "Settings / Copy From..." requires one to first create the right input from scratch then it does not even copy really everything (e.g. it does not copy the color of the Colour input, etc).
   
2. The "Settings / General / Create Virtual Input" (intentionally) connects to the source input and just renaming the title at least in vMix 24/25 did not break the connection for me the way others told me.
   
3. The combination of "Settings / General / Create Virtual Input" plus a subsequent "Settings / General / Change" does a the best job, but requires me to repeat the initial input creation step to not loose e.g. the main color of the Colour input.

So, I decided to craft a small vMix script which can be attached to a vMix shortcut and which really clones the input currently in preview. By "really cloning" I mean that I duplicate really all information of the input in the underlying vMix preset XML file (*.vmix) except for the title (where I attach " (CLONED)" to easy identify the clone before its title is renamed by me) and the key/id (where I generate a new GUID/UUID from scratch to give the cloned input a new identity).

As perhaps others also might want to clone vMix inputs this heavy way, find my vMix script as Open Source under: clone-input.vb

Please tell me if I'm wrong and there is a better way to really clone an input in vMix in a 1:1 fashion. Perhaps I've just overlooked something...