Copying and Pasting Objects

You can copy objects from diagrams, the Browser, object lists, and the Results List and paste them into diagrams, the Browser, object lists, and external applications.

When you copy an object, you copy not only its properties but also the properties of its related objects to the clipboard. For example, if you copy a CDM entity, you also copy the attributes and business rules attached to that entity. When you paste an object, you transfer all of its properties from the Clipboard and create a new object, and not a graphical synonym or a new instance of the copied object.

Copying Objects

To copy an object, select it in a diagram, the Browser, an object list, or the Results List, and then do one of the following:

Select Edit > Copy from the PowerDesigner menu bar.
Press Ctrl+C.
Right-click and select Edit > Copy.
Open a list of objects, select one or several lines in the list and Press Ctrl+C.

Pasting Objects

Note: By default, when you drag and drop objects, you move them, but if you hold down the Ctrl key during a drag and drop, you can create a copy. For more information, see Dragging and dropping objects.

To paste an object in PowerDesigner, click in a diagram, the Browser, or an object list, and then do one of the following:

Select Edit > Paste from the PowerDesigner menu bar.
Press Ctrl+V.
Right-click and select Edit > Paste.
Open a list of objects, select a line in the list and press Ctrl+V.

If you paste the selected object into an external application, the following will occur:

Copied item	Paste result
Diagram symbol	Image of the symbol (MS Word, PaintBrush)
List item from an object list	List in CSV format (MS Word, Excel)
Item from the Check Result list	List in CSV format (Excel)
Item from the Find Result list	List in CSV format (Excel)

Pasting Objects as Shortcuts

When you copy an object you can paste it as a shortcut that references the original object (see Shortcuts and Object Replications).

Note: By default, when you drag and drop objects, you move them, but if you hold down the Ctrl+Shift keys during a drag and drop, you can create a shortcut. For more information, see Dragging and dropping objects.

To paste an object as a shortcut in PowerDesigner, click in a diagram, the Browser, or an object list, and then do one of the following:

Select Edit > Paste As Shortcut from the PowerDesigner menu bar.
Right-click the Browser target or the diagram window and select Edit > Paste As Shortcut.

When pasting as a shortcut into a diagram, the following rules are used. If the object copied is in:

The same model or package and the same diagram - a new graphical synonym of the object is created.
The same model or package but a different diagram - a new shortcut symbol or graphical synonym is created.
A different model or package:
- If the shortcut does not exist, a shortcut is created (with a symbol)
- If the shortcut already exists without a symbol, a symbol is created (if you are pasting into a diagram)
- If a shortcut and a symbol already exist, a graphical synonym is created (if you are pasting into a diagram)

Managing Paste Conflicts

When you paste an object in PowerDesigner, checks are applied in order to verify that no conflict occurs between the identifying properties of the objects. The identifying criteria depends on the type of object, for some objects it is just the code, for others, the name and the code.

For more information about the identifying properties of an object, see Object namespaces.

When a paste conflict occurs, PowerDesigner automatically renames the name and/or the code of the object in the following way:

Source object	First renaming	Second renaming
Name	Name2	Name3
CODE	CODE2	CODE3

A message is displayed in the Output pane to warn you that the object was renamed.

When a paste conflict occurs on a CDM entity, the entity is renamed according to the data item options set in the model.

Data item options	Result of copying an entity
Unique Code Allow Reuse	New entity with new name and code New identifier with new name and code Reuses other attributes
Unique Code only	New entity with new name and code New identifier with new name and code New attributes with new names and codes
Allow Reuse only	New entity with new name and code New identifier with same name and code Reuses other attributes
None	New entity with new name and code New identifier with same name and code New attributes with same names and codes