Relationsĭepending on the editor or editing context the type of data carried over to a duplicate differs depending on the parent object or originating property or value referenced duplicating keyframes for example typically includes the coordinates of an armature pose, their location, rotation, scale (or other) data duplicating a mesh might include material references, UV maps and vertex groups and so on. Using Duplicate Linked creates objects that are connected such that changes made to one member of a group immediately propagate to others – this can be useful in situations where a groups of objects may need to use the same materials but their location, rotation and scale should differ. The shortcut keys Alt + D activate the function regardless however. A set of objects or elements will appear synced with the mouse, right-click or press Esc to release and reset back to their originating locations.ĭesign note: as with Duplicate Objects the context menu for Duplicate Linked is context sensitive, its location differing depending on the active editor and/or editing context in the 3D View for example the menu is labeled Object in Object Mode, Key in the Action Editor, Marker in the Timeline and so on. Where available, to use Duplicate Linked, make a selection and from the primary menu for the active editor or editing context click Duplicate Linked – Object » Duplicate Linked. In other words, while some aspects of a selection appear unique – object-based rotation, location and scaling for example, others are not – edit mode-based changes or modifications. Duplicate Linkedĭuplicate Linked differs slightly from Duplicate Objects in that data generated this way is not entirely unique, its instanced so will typically retain references to any number of the parent objects properties such that changes to one propagate across to any others. To release and reset right-click or press Esc. The shortcut keys Shift + D activate the function regardless (ensure the mouse cursor is over the editor/area/view before initiating).ĭuplicated objects appear outline-highlighted white and synced to the mouse, moving as it moves. Right-click or press Esc to reset the new selection to its originating location (coincidental to the parent from which it was duplicated).ĭesign note: the context menu where Duplicate Objects can be found differs depending on the editor and/or active editing context, in the 3D View for example the menu is labeled Object in Object Mode, Key in the Action Editor, Marker in the Timeline and so on. A set of objects will appear moving with the mouse (and typically offset for visibility).
Alternatively use the Shift + D shortcut. Object in Object Mode (3D View), click Duplicate Objects – Object » Duplicate Objects. Where available to use Duplicate, make a selection then from the primary menu for the editor or editing context being used, e.g. Using this selections are duplicated as independent objects from their originating parent, but may including (for mesh objects in particular) instanced references to material assignments, modifiers, UV maps and other assignable properties.
Duplicate Objectsįor all intents and purposes Duplicate Objects is Blenders Copy/Paste equivalent. Due to the way Blender uses instancing to generate and manage data the preferred way to make copies of something is to use Duplicate rather than Copy and Paste, that is Duplicate Objects, Duplicate Linked and Duplicate depending on the context and availability.ĭesign note: although Copy/Paste is broadly honoured in Blender 2.8+ its behaviour differs slightly relative to Duplicate Objects.