Most diagrams repeat themselves: the same card three times, a row of identical steps, one styled box that wants to become five. livediagram gives you three ways to duplicate, and the fastest one places the copy in a single gesture.
The Duplicate action
Select an element (or several) and press ⌘D (Ctrl+D on Windows/Linux). A copy lands offset from the original, selected and ready to move. The same action sits in the selection's toolbar as Duplicate, so it works on touch too.
Duplicates are complete copies: styling, text, size, and group structure all come along, and arrows connecting elements inside the duplicated set stay wired up within the copy.
Copy and paste
⌘C then ⌘V does the classic version, pasting an offset copy. It goes further than Duplicate in one way: the clipboard survives switching tabs, so you can copy elements on one tab and paste them onto another. ⌘X cuts, removing the originals on paste.
Shift-drag: duplicate and place in one gesture
The quickest way to duplicate is to hold Shift and drag a selected element:
Hold Shift and drag. The original stays put, and a translucent ghost of the copy follows your pointer, with the usual snapping and alignment guides.
Release to solidify the copy at the drop point. It lands selected, so you can keep working with it right away.
A few details worth knowing:
- Change your mind mid-drag: release Shift while still dragging and the ghost dissolves, turning the gesture back into a plain move. Press Shift again to re-summon the copy.
- Connections are copied sensibly: an arrow linking the dragged set to the rest of the diagram is duplicated too, so the copy arrives wired the same way the original is.
- One undo step: a single undo removes the whole gesture, copy and move together. Escape cancels it entirely.
- Shift keeps its other jobs: Shift-clicking an unselected element still adds it to the selection, and Shift while resizing still constrains proportions. Only a real drag on an already-selected element duplicates.
Building a row or grid of identical elements? Style the first one completely, then Shift-drag copies into place one after another. Each copy lands selected, so you can chain the gesture without re-selecting.
Was this article helpful?