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

Copy Elements Between Packages

Enterprise Architect enables you to quickly and easily duplicate one or more elements, including their child elements and diagrams. You can insert a copy of an element under one or more other packages, in the same .eap file or any other .eap file.

Notes:
  • 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 a package that is locked by another user or that is checked in. The Paste... option is grayed out in the context menu.

To copy elements, follow the step below :

  1. In the Project Browser, select each required element, right-click on one of them and select the Copy Element(s) to Clipboard context menu option (or click on a selected element and press [Ctrl]+[C]). The Copy Element(s) to Clipboard dialog briefly displays until the copy operation completes.

To paste the copied elements, follow the step below:

  1. In the Project Browser, right-click on the package into which to paste the copied elements, and select the Paste Element(s) from Clipboard context menu option (or click on the package and press [Ctrl]+[V]). The Paste Element(s) from Clipboard dialog briefly displays until the paste operation completes.

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

If the target 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 name as the pasted element including the - Copy suffix, the suffix becomes - Copy1 (or - Copy 2, - Copy3 and so on, as copies of the element accumulate in the target 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 Project Browser, or by double-clicking on it and editing the name in the Properties dialog.