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Copy and duplicate objects

  1. Illustrator User Guide
  2. Get to know Illustrator
    1. Introduction to Illustrator
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      3. Create documents
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      7. Introduction to artboards
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      17. Accessibility in Illustrator
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    3. Tools in Illustrator
      1. Tools at a glance
      2. Select tools
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    4. Generative AI (not available in mainland China)
      1. Generate scenes, subjects, and icons using text prompts
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      3. Generate vector shape fills using text prompts
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  3. Illustrator on the web (beta)
    1. Illustrator on the web (beta) overview
    2. Illustrator on the web (beta) FAQ
    3. Troubleshooting issues FAQ
    4. Keyboard shortcuts for Illustrator on the web (beta)
    5. Create and combine shapes on the web
    6. Add and edit text on the web
    7. Apply colors and gradients on the web
    8. Draw and edit paths on the web
    9. Work with cloud documents on the web
    10. Invite collaborators to edit on the web
  4. Illustrator on the iPad
    1. Introduction to Illustrator on the iPad
      1. Illustrator on the iPad overview
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      3. System requirements | Illustrator on the iPad
      4. What you can or cannot do on Illustrator on the iPad
    2. Workspace
      1. Illustrator on the iPad workspace
      2. Touch shortcuts and gestures
      3. Keyboard shortcuts for Illustrator on the iPad
      4. Manage your app settings
    3. Documents
      1. Work with documents in Illustrator on the iPad
      2. Import Photoshop and Fresco documents
    4. Select and arrange objects
      1. Create repeat objects
      2. Blend objects
    5. Drawing
      1. Draw and edit paths
      2. Draw and edit shapes
    6. Type
      1. Work with type and fonts
      2. Create text designs along a path
      3. Add your own fonts
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      1. Vectorize raster images
    8. Color
      1. Apply colors and gradients
  5. Cloud documents
    1. Basics
      1. Work with Illustrator cloud documents
      2. Share and collaborate on Illustrator cloud documents
      3. Share documents for review
      4. Upgrade cloud storage for Adobe Illustrator
      5. Illustrator cloud documents | Common questions
    2. Troubleshooting
      1. Troubleshoot create or save issues for Illustrator cloud documents
      2. Troubleshoot Illustrator cloud documents issues
  6. Add and edit content
    1. Drawing and dimensioning
      1. Drawing basics
      2. Edit paths
      3. Draw pixel-perfect art
      4. Draw with the Pen, Curvature, or Pencil tool
      5. Draw simple lines and shapes
      6. Draw rectangular and polar grids
      7. Draw and edit flares
      8. Image Trace
      9. Simplify a path
      10. Symbolism tools and symbol sets
      11. Adjust path segments
      12. Design a flower in 5 easy steps
      13. Create and edit a perspective grid
      14. Draw and modify objects on a perspective grid
      15. Use objects as symbols for repeat use
      16. Draw pixel-aligned paths for web workflows
      17. Measure and plot dimensions
    2. 3D objects and materials
      1. About 3D effects in Illustrator
      2. Create 3D graphics
      3. Map artwork over 3D objects
      4. Create 3D Text
      5. Create 3D objects
    3. Color
      1. About color
      2. Select colors
      3. Use and create swatches
      4. Adjust colors
      5. Use the Adobe Color Themes panel
      6. Color groups (harmonies)
      7. Color Themes panel
      8. Recolor your artwork
    4. Painting
      1. About painting
      2. Paint with fills and strokes
      3. Live Paint groups
      4. Gradients
      5. Brushes
      6. Transparency and blending modes
      7. Apply stroke on an object
      8. Create and edit patterns
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      7. Stack objects    
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      9. Copy and duplicate objects
      10. Rotate and reflect objects
      11. Intertwine objects
      12. Create realistic art mockups
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      10. Build new shapes with Shaper and Shape Builder tools
      11. Work with Live Corners
      12. Enhanced reshape workflows with touch support
      13. Edit clipping masks
      14. Live shapes
      15. Create shapes using the Shape Builder tool
      16. Global editing
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      1. Add text and work with type objects
      2. Create bulleted and numbered lists
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      24. Composers for Asian scripts
      25. Create text designs with blend objects
      26. Create a text poster using Image Trace
    8. Create special effects
      1. Work with effects
      2. Graphic styles
      3. Appearance attributes
      4. Create sketches and mosaics
      5. Drop shadows, glows, and feathering
      6. Summary of effects
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      1. Best practices for creating web graphics
      2. Graphs
      3. SVG
      4. Slices and image maps
  7. Import, export, and save
    1. Import
      1. Place multiple files
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      5. Import artwork from Photoshop
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    2. Creative Cloud Libraries in Illustrator 
      1. Creative Cloud Libraries in Illustrator
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      1. Save artwork
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      3. Create Adobe PDF files
      4. Adobe PDF options
      5. Use Illustrator artwork in Photoshop
      6. Collect assets and export in batches
      7. Package files
      8. Extract CSS | Illustrator CC
      9. Document info panel
  8. Printing
    1. Prepare for printing
      1. Set up documents for printing
      2. Change the page size and orientation
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      4. Get started with large canvas
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      1. Overprint
      2. Print with color management
      3. PostScript printing
      4. Print presets
      5. Printer's marks and bleeds
      6. Print and save transparent artwork
      7. Trapping
      8. Print color separations
      9. Print gradients, meshes, and color blends
      10. White Overprint
  9. Automate tasks
    1. Data merge using the Variables panel
    2. Automation with scripts
    3. Automation with actions
  10. Troubleshooting 
    1. Fixed issues
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    3. Crash issues
    4. Recover files after crash
    5. File issues
    6. Supported file formats
    7. GPU device driver issues
    8. Wacom device issues
    9. DLL file issues
    10. Memory issues
    11. Preferences file issues
    12. Font issues
    13. Printer issues
    14. Share crash report with Adobe
    15. Improve Illustrator performance

Learn how to duplicate objects within Illustrator and copy objects between Illustrator and other Adobe applications.

You can duplicate or drag and drop objects to create copies of your objects in Illustrator, letting you work on your artwork efficiently. Similarly, you can copy objects or artwork from other Adobe applications and use them in Illustrator.

copy and duplicate objects

Copy objects using drag-and-drop

  1. Select one or more objects.

  2. Select the Selection  , Direct Selection  , or Group Selection   tool.

  3. Alt‑drag (Windows) or Option‑drag (macOS) the selected object.

Copy objects using the Layers panel

You can quickly duplicate objects, groups, and entire layers by using the Layers panel.

  1. Select one or more layers that you want to duplicate in the Layers panel.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • From the Layers panel menu, select Duplicate <Layer name>.

    • Drag the selection to the Create New Layer   at the lower right of the Layers panel.

Copy artwork between Illustrator and other apps

You can use the Clipboard to transfer selections between an Illustrator file and other Adobe applications, including Adobe Photoshop and Adobe InDesign. The paths are copied to the Clipboard as PostScript language descriptions which let you import paths.

Artwork copied to the Clipboard takes the PDF or AICB version. PDF enables you to retain transparency, and AICB lets you specify whether you want to preserve the overall appearance or copy the selection as a set of paths.

To specify copying preferences, do the following:

  1. Select Edit > Preferences > Clipboard Handling (Windows) or Illustrator > Preferences > Clipboard Handling (macOS).

  2. Select PDFAICB, or both.

If you select AICB, do one of the following:

  • To discard any transparency in the copied artwork, select Preserve Paths.
  •  To flatten transparency, and preserve the copied artwork’s appearance and overprinted objects, select Preserve Appearance And Overprints.

Select the tab to learn how to drag and drop artwork between Photoshop and Illustrator.

Drag and drop artwork into a Photoshop document

  1. Select the artwork that you want to copy.

  2. Open the Photoshop document into which you want to copy the selection.

  3. To copy the artwork into Photoshop as bitmap images, do one of the following:

    • Drag the selection toward the Photoshop window, and when a black outline appears, release the mouse button.
    • To place the selection in the center of the Photoshop image, press and hold Shift before dragging the selection.
    Note:

    By default, selected objects are copied as bitmap images to the active layer.

  4. To copy a vector artwork into Photoshop with paths, press and hold Ctrl (Windows) or Command (macOS), and drag the selection to the Photoshop document.

Drag and drop artwork from Photoshop into Illustrator

  1. Open the Photoshop document from which you want to copy.

  2. Select the artwork that you want to copy.

  3. Select the Move tool  and drag the selection from Photoshop into the Illustrator file.

To learn how to import and export artwork between Illustrator and Photoshop, see Use Illustrator artwork in Photoshop.

Copy type object from InDesign

You can copy any InDesign text and paste them into an Illustrator document, retaining the character style, paragraph style, effects, and format. Similarly, you can copy any text frame or text from Illustrator and paste it into InDesign. 

Before you begin, ensure that you select Edit > Preferences > Clipboard Handling (Windows) or Illustrator > Preferences > Clipboard Handling (macOS) and deselect Paste text without formatting.

  1. Select a text frame or text from InDesign and press Ctrl / Cmd + C.

  2. Open the Illustrator document and press Ctrl / Cmd + V to paste the text.

To learn how to copy text and paste it in InDesign, see Copy and paste from Illustrator.

Offset duplicate objects

You can set a duplicated object to a specified distance from the selected object using the Offset Path option, or using arrow keys. Offsetting objects create concentric shapes or make multiple copies of an object with regular distances between the duplicates.

The effect lets you convert a mesh object into a regular path. For example, if you've released an envelope or want to convert a mesh shape for use in another application, apply an offset path with an offset value of zero and delete the mesh shape. You can then edit the remaining path.

Offset objects using the Offset Path command

  1. Select one or more objects.

  2. Choose Object > Path > Offset Path.

  3. Specify the offset distance, line join type, and miter limit.

Offset objects using keyboard

  1. Select one or more objects.

  2. Press and hold Opt or Alt, and press an arrow key.

An object is duplicated and is offset by the Keyboard Increment value specified in Preferences > General.

If an object doesn't duplicate, ensure that the Keyboard Increment preference value isn't zero.


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