Copy

The copy command creates translated duplicates of selected entities and places them offset from a base point to a destination — the originals stay exactly where they are. This is the one key difference from Move: Copy adds new entities to the drawing; Move relocates existing ones.

Two ways to start

Pre-select, then copy — select entities first, then activate:

1. Select one or more entities on the canvas.
2. Type copy in the terminal or click the Copy toolbar button.
3. Click the base point, or type X,Y and press Enter for an exact coordinate.
4. Click the destination — duplicates appear at the base→destination offset. Coordinate entry works here too.

Activate, then select — start the command with nothing selected:

1. Type copy or click the toolbar button.
2. Select objects — click to toggle individual entities, or drag to select by area.
3. Press Enter or Space to confirm the selection.
4. Click the base point, then click the destination (coordinate entry available at both steps).

  Before:               After:
  [entity A]            [entity A]  ← originals untouched
  [entity B]            [entity B]
                        [copy of A] ← new entities
                        [copy of B]

A ghost preview of the copies follows the cursor from the base point to the destination.

Coordinate entry

At the base-point or destination step, type an exact position instead of clicking:

1. Type the X value.
2. Press , — the terminal shows [X], [Y{cursor}].
3. Type the Y value.
4. Press Enter to confirm.

Angle locking and exact distance

After the base point is set the command snaps to 45° axes (0°, 45°, 90°, 135°, …) when the cursor is far enough and near the axis. While locked, type a distance and press Enter to place the copies at exactly that offset.

Key	Action
0–9, .	Append to the distance value
-	Negative distance — reverses direction along the axis (first character only)
Backspace	Delete the last typed character
Enter	Place copies at the typed distance

Keyboard reference

Key	Action
Enter / Space	Confirm selection and advance to base-point phase
0–9, ., -	Start X coordinate entry, or distance when angle-locked
,	Lock X and move to Y entry
Backspace	Delete last typed character
Enter	Confirm coordinate or apply copy at typed distance
Escape	Cancel and reset

Selection during the command

Method	Behaviour
Click	Toggles the entity under the cursor in/out of the selection
Drag right (strict)	Adds entities fully inside the box
Drag left (crossing)	Adds entities that intersect the box boundary
Enter / Space	Confirms the selection

After the copy

The originals remain selected — the new copies are added to the drawing but the selection is cleared and the command exits. To work with the copies immediately, run Copy again on the selection, or start a new command.

Copy vs Move

	Copy	Move
Originals	Stay in place	Removed from original position
Result count	Increases by the number of copied entities	Unchanged
After operation	Originals still selected	Moved entities selected at new position
Best for	Repeating geometry, symmetric layouts	Repositioning geometry

Supported entities

Copy works on every entity type. All entities implement translate(dx, dy) internally so none are excluded.