Duplicating

There are four ways to copy shapes, from a quick drag to commands that also handle the arrows connected to them. Every way copies the shapes' animations too.

Clone

Drag a copy off the original.

• Operation: hold Alt while dragging a shape. Release it during the drag to move the original instead.
• Needs: if the shape has a Position Animation, you can only clone it before the animation starts.
• Result: the original stays put and you place the copy by hand.

Duplicate

Make a copy of the selected shapes.

• Operation: click Duplicate selected shapes in the Actions panel.
• Result: a copy right on top of the original, selected.

Repeat a transformation

After duplicating, move or rotate the copy. Then duplicate again with the newest copy selected: the new copy repeats that move or rotation. Duplicating anything else starts a new sequence.

To make the flower above:

1. Draw one petal and place its pivot at the center of the flower.
2. Duplicate the petal, then rotate the copy by 30°.
3. Keep the copy selected and use Duplicate selected shapes ten more times. Each new petal turns another 30°, giving you twelve petals around the same center.

The dark circle marks the flower's center and is a separate shape. Only the petal is duplicated. For copies spaced evenly along a line, move the first copy instead of rotating it, then keep duplicating.

Duplicate with arrows

Duplicate the selected shapes and their connected arrows.

• Operation: click Duplicate shape with arrows in the Actions panel.
• Needs: at least one selected shape with an arrow connected, incoming or outgoing. Shapes without arrows are skipped.
• Result:
  • A copy to the right of the original, with a small gap between them. The copy is selected.
  • Every arrow connected to the original is copied and connected to the copy. Its other end stays on the same neighbor, or moves to that neighbor's copy if the neighbor was selected too.
• Tip: when an arrow meets a neighbor at a precise point, its copy meets that neighbor slightly further along the edge, so the two arrows don't overlap.

Duplicate and continue flow

Duplicate shapes with incoming arrows and move the copies in the direction of the flow.

• Operation: click Duplicate shape and continue flow in the Actions panel.
• Needs: at least one selected shape with an incoming arrow. Shapes without one are skipped.
• Result:
  • A copy one shape width or height past the original, to the left, right, top, or bottom: whichever follows the incoming arrow most closely.
  • A copy of the incoming arrow, with its style and label, running from the original to the copy. With several incoming arrows, only one is copied.
  • The copy is selected.