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Please note : This help page is not for the latest version of Enterprise Architect. The latest help can be found here.

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Copy Elements

You can quickly and easily duplicate one or more elements, with their child elements and diagrams, under other elements or Packages. You can insert a copy of an element under one or more other elements or Packages, in the same project file or any other project file.

It is not possible to duplicate an element on the same diagram, but you can generate representations of the element at the ends of connectors, called virtual connector ends. See the Virtual Connector Ends - Represent One Element Several Times on a Diagram Help topic.

Operations

Operation

Actions

See also

Copy the Elements

In the Browser window, select the elements to copy, right-click on one and select:

     'Copy / Paste | Copy to Clipboard | Full Structure for Duplication'

Alternatively, click on a selected element and press Ctrl+Shift+C.

The 'Copying Selected Element(s) to Clipboard' dialog briefly displays while the copy operation completes.

Paste the Elements

In the Browser window, right-click on the element or Package into which to paste the copied elements, and select the 'Copy / Paste | Paste Element(s) from Clipboard' option.

Alternatively, click on the Package and press Ctrl+V.

The 'Pasting Element(s) from Clipboard' dialog briefly displays while the paste operation completes.

The target element or Package is expanded and the pasted elements are exposed in the Browser window. If you are pasting the elements within the same model as the copied source, the source parent Package is also collapsed.

If the target element or Package already contains:

  • An element of the same type with the same name as a pasted element, the pasted element name has the suffix - Copy
  • An element with the same type and name as the pasted element including the - Copy suffix, the suffix becomes - Copy1 (or - Copy2, - Copy3 and so on, as copies of the element accumulate in the target element or Package)

You can keep the same element names as the source, or you can rename each element either by clicking twice on it and editing the name in the Browser window, or by double-clicking on it and editing the name in the 'Properties' dialog.

Notes

  • If you want to copy any elements to paste under another element, the target element must be capable of receiving the child elements; for example, you cannot paste a Class element as a child of a Port
  • A copy of an element does not have the external cross references of the source element; that is:
         -  if one element is copied it has no connectors
         -  if more than one element is copied, only the connectors between the copied elements are
            retained
         -  however, if those elements come from a Sequence or Communication diagram and the diagram
            itself is not copied, the message connectors between the copied elements are not retained
  • You cannot paste an element into an element or Package that is locked by another user or that is checked in; the 'Paste...' option is grayed out in the context menu

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