Copy, paste and duplicate

Copying saves a lot of posing: one character becomes a crowd, a prop lands in exactly the same spot on the next frame, a whole move travels to another project. On this page you learn every way to copy, paste and duplicate, and which one to pick.

Copy and paste a figure

1. Click the stage, then select the figure (or several). The keys work on whatever has focus, so the stage must have it.
2. Press Ctrl+C, or right-click the figure and choose Copy.
3. Press Ctrl+V. The copy appears 24 pixels down and to the right, already selected, so you can drag it away. Paste again and the next copy goes a little further.

Ctrl+X cuts: it copies, then removes the original. The first paste after a cut lands exactly where the original was.

Paste in place

A normal paste moves the copy to the side so you can see it. Paste in place puts it exactly where the original was. It is the stick-animation classic for props that must not jump between frames.

1. Select the prop on one frame and press Ctrl+C.
2. Go to another frame and click the stage.
3. Press Ctrl+Shift+V, or right-click empty space and choose Paste in place. The prop lands in exactly the same spot.

Duplicate in one step

1. Select the figure.
2. Click Duplicate in Properties' quick actions, or press Ctrl+D. A copy appears a little to the side, selected.

Duplicate doesn't touch what you copied before: Ctrl+V still pastes your last copy.

Duplicate by dragging

Hold Alt and drag a figure's orange dot: a copy peels off and follows the pointer, and the original stays where it was. An Alt-click that doesn't drag just selects. Esc before you let go cancels the copy. (Alt-dragging a red dot rotates the figure instead; see Flip, align and arrange.)

Try it

Each task is one of the steps above. The commands are where they are in the app: the keys, Properties, and the right-click menu.

Instances and unique copies

Every figure has a design (its lines, lengths and colours, made in Build) and a pose. When you paste, you choose whether the copy shares the design with the original. Right-click the figure and open Paste as, or right-click empty space:

Poses are always separate: instances share their design, not their pose. A plain Ctrl+V of an ordinary figure gives it its own design; use the two commands above when it matters.

Copy joined figures and limbs

• A joined group: double-click an orange dot to select everything joined to it, then copy. In the paste, the copied sword still holds the copied hand.
• Only the child: copy just the sword and the pasted sword is free, at the same place on screen. The original stays joined.
• One limb: double-click a joint to select its branch, then copy. The paste is a new figure made of just that limb.

Settings for pasting

In Settings (Ctrl+,) → Canvas:

• Pasting → Pasted figure depth: Same Z-index (default) keeps the copy at the same depth as the original; In front puts pasted figures in front of everything on the layer.
• Duplication → Alt-drag a figure root: Linked instance (the default) or Independent copy, for what an Alt-drag creates.

Copy frames

When the timeline has focus, Ctrl+C, Ctrl+X and Ctrl+V copy and paste frames instead of figures.

1. Select the frames: in the Simple timeline click the cards (Shift-click for a range), in the Advanced timeline select the cells.
2. Press Ctrl+C, or click Copy in the Simple timeline's frame bar.
3. Pick where they should go (open another project if you like), click the timeline, and press Ctrl+V or Paste.

Copied frames survive opening another project, and in the desktop app even a restart, so you can move a whole move from one animation to another. A big paste shows its progress with a Cancel button; let it finish before you change projects.

The keys

On a Mac, use Cmd instead of Ctrl. You can change any of these in Settings → Shortcuts.

Common mistakes

Common questions

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