If you are new to Photoshop, you should start by becoming proficient with Illustrator’s duplicate functionality. Knowing the many ways to duplicate objects and layers and how to copy and paste in Illustrator correctly makes building on your ideas a lot faster and more effective. Without having to redesign each time, you will be able to produce a wide range of concepts swiftly.

It’s quite straightforward to duplicate in Illustrator. To replicate an item in Illustrator, first select it. Navigate to Edit > Copy next. Select Edit > Paste after clicking on the location where you want to add the copied item.

Let’s start looking at each of the three major techniques to replicate in Illustrator.

Shortcut Keys for Duplicating in Illustrator

So far, this is the fastest and simplest method for duplicating in Illustrator. Anything may be duplicated with it, including objects, forms, photos, layers, text, and more. 

To learn more information about how to duplicate in Illustrator, watch this video below:

The FASTEST Way to Duplicate Objects in Illustrator

What is the Illustrator Shortcut Key for Duplicating?

The shortcut key to duplicate in Illustrator is to click and drag while pressing the Option key on a Mac or the Alt key on a Windows computer. This rule applies to practically every Adobe design application.

• Let’s assume your artboard has some text.

• Your cursor will transform into a black-and-white duplicate pointer when you pick up the text and start pressing the Option/Alt key.

• This indicates that if you click and drag, the selected object will be duplicated.

• You may hold Shift when dragging the cloned item to make sure it stays aligned with the original object.

• Make sure the Smart Guides checkbox is selected in the View menu.

How to Copy and Paste in Illustrator

Copying and pasting may seem like a lame way to replicate things in Illustrator, but we assure you that it’s not. You can use this strategy for several other purposes.

How Do I Copy and Paste in Illustrator?

Selecting the items you wish to copy and paste in Illustrator first will make the process go more smoothly.

• Go to Edit > Copy, then Edit > Paste next.

• On a Mac or Windows computer, you may copy in Illustrator by pressing Command + Ctrl + C.

• Command + V on a Mac or Ctrl + V on a Windows keyboard will then paste the copied image into Illustrator quickly.

How Do I Copy and Paste in Place in Illustrator?

There are several ways to copy something and paste it somewhere. When you want objects to appear exactly where you want them on a fresh artboard, these are extremely helpful.

• Press Ctrl + C on a Windows computer or Command + C on a Mac to copy whatever items you’ve chosen.

• Use the selection tool to click on the artboard to bring it into view if you wish to paste it in place on a fresh artboard.

• Select Edit > Paste in Place after that, and your object will duplicate exactly where it was on the original artboard.

• To paste in Illustrator, use Shift + Command + V on a Mac or Shift + Ctrl + V on a Windows keyboard.

How to Duplicate Layers in Illustrator?

In Illustrator, layers are probably something you use if you’re organized.

• Go to Window > Layers to display the layer panel. F7 serves as the layer panel’s shortcut key.

We’ll go through the easy method for duplicating layers in Illustrator.

What is the shortcut key to duplicate layers in Illustrator?

In the layers panel, duplicating layers is as simple as pressing a few keys together.

• When you click and drag to duplicate a layer, press the Option key on a Mac or the ALT key on a Windows computer while selecting the layer you wish to duplicate.

• Similarly, you may duplicate items by choosing them in the layers panel and using the Option/Alt shortcut key.

• Last but not least, you may pick several layers or objects to duplicate by holding down the Command or Ctrl key while doing so, or by clicking on one layer and holding down the Shift key while clicking another to select all layers or objects in between.

• Holding Option or Alt while dragging the chosen items to the correct location in your layers panel will duplicate these items.

Conclusion

So, there you are. This extensive tutorial demonstrated how you can duplicate objects in Illustrator. It is an important function that comes in handy when editing. Unfortunately, Illustrator can be difficult to understand for newbies. Hence, we hope this guide has proven to be helpful.