How to duplicate in Canva

Last Updated on October 16, 2024 by Adil

Duplicating elements, pages, or entire designs in Canva can save time and help maintain consistency across your projects. Whether you’re working on a design for social media, presentations, or marketing materials, knowing how to duplicate effectively will streamline your workflow. This guide will take you through the different ways on How to duplicate in Canva.

1. Duplicating Elements

Duplicating individual elements like shapes, icons, or text boxes is useful when you want to create a uniform look or quickly add the same element multiple times.

Steps:

  1. Select the Element: Click on the element you want to duplicate (text box, shape, image, etc.).
  2. Click the Duplicate Icon: A small toolbar will appear above or below the element. Click on the icon that looks like two overlapping squares. This will immediately duplicate the selected element.
  3. Drag the New Element: The duplicated element will appear directly on top of the original. You can click and drag it to a new position.

Shortcut:

Alternatively, you can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + D (or Cmd + D on Mac) to duplicate selected elements.

2. Duplicating Pages

Duplicating pages is useful when you are creating multi-page documents or presentations with a consistent layout across different slides.

Steps:

  1. Navigate to the Pages Panel: At the bottom of the Canva interface, you will see thumbnails for each page of your design.
  2. Hover Over the Page: Hover your mouse over the page you want to duplicate.
  3. Click the Duplicate Icon: A small icon resembling two squares will appear on the page thumbnail. Click it to duplicate the entire page, including all its elements and design.

Shortcut:

While there is no direct keyboard shortcut for duplicating pages, you can use the Ctrl + A (Cmd + A) to select all elements on the page, then Ctrl + D (Cmd + D) to duplicate and paste it onto a new page.

3. Duplicating Entire Designs

Duplicating an entire design is a quick way to create variations of a project, ensuring the original remains untouched.

Steps:

  1. Go to Your Dashboard: From the Canva homepage, find the design you want to duplicate.
  2. Click on the Design: Hover over the design thumbnail, and click the three dots () that appear in the upper right corner.
  3. Select ‘Make a Copy’: From the dropdown menu, select “Make a copy.” This creates a duplicate design in your dashboard, which you can edit separately.

4. Duplicating Text and Images

When duplicating text boxes or images, the steps are similar to duplicating elements, but there are some additional points to keep in mind.

Duplicating Text:

  1. Click the Text Box: Select the text box that you want to duplicate.
  2. Click Duplicate: Use the toolbar above or click Ctrl + D (Cmd + D) to duplicate.
  3. Edit the Duplicated Text: The duplicated text will appear over the original. You can drag it to a new position and modify the content.

Duplicating Images:

  1. Select the Image: Click on the image you want to duplicate.
  2. Use the Duplicate Option: Click the Duplicate icon or use the Ctrl + D (Cmd + D) shortcut.
  3. Move the Duplicated Image: You can now reposition or resize the duplicated image as needed.

5. Using Keyboard Shortcuts for Duplication

Keyboard shortcuts can speed up your workflow when working with Canva. Here are the main ones related to duplication:

  • Ctrl + D (Cmd + D): Duplicate selected elements (text, shapes, images).
  • Ctrl + C (Cmd + C) and Ctrl + V (Cmd + V): You can copy and paste elements as an alternative way to duplicate.
  • Alt + Drag (Option + Drag): You can also hold the Alt key (or Option on Mac) while dragging an element to duplicate it.

6. Best Practices for Duplication in Canva

  • Use Duplication for Consistency: If you need to use the same design element multiple times, duplicating ensures that everything remains consistent in size, spacing, and style.
  • Naming Duplicates: When you duplicate an entire design, rename the copy to keep track of different versions.
  • Layers and Alignment: After duplicating elements, make sure they are aligned properly to avoid clutter or misalignment in your design.
  • Use Grids and Guides: Canva offers grids and guides to help you align your duplicated elements perfectly.

Conclusion

Mastering the art of duplication in Canva can make your design process more efficient, especially when working on large projects or maintaining a cohesive look across multiple designs. With these simple steps and shortcuts, you can duplicate elements, pages, or entire designs with ease. Whether you’re working on a single project or managing multiple campaigns, this feature is an invaluable tool for ensuring consistency and saving time.

Yes, you can! To duplicate multiple elements at the same time, hold down the Shift key and click on each element you want to select. Once all elements are selected, either click the Duplicate icon or use the Ctrl + D (Cmd + D) shortcut to duplicate them together.

Yes, you can duplicate pages in the Canva mobile app. To do this, open the page you want to duplicate, tap on the page number at the bottom of the screen, then tap the three dots () and select “Duplicate.”

If you accidentally duplicate an element, page, or design, you can quickly undo the action by pressing Ctrl + Z (Cmd + Z) or clicking the Undo button at the top of the screen.

No, there is no limit to how many times you can duplicate an element or page in Canva. You can duplicate as many times as you need within your design, although keeping your design organized will be important if you’re working with many duplicates.

Yes, you can duplicate an entire Canva project by selecting “Make a copy” in the design options. Once duplicated, you can share it by using Canva’s sharing options to invite collaborators or share a link.

Yes, duplicating a page or element will also duplicate any animations, effects, or customizations applied to it. The duplicated version will retain all the settings of the original element.

Currently, Canva does not support duplicating entire folders. You will need to open each design in the folder and manually duplicate them by selecting “Make a copy” from the design options.

No, you cannot directly duplicate designs between different Canva accounts. However, you can share the design link or export it as a template and then re-import it into the other account to achieve a similar result.

If you are using a premium element or image in a design, duplicating it will retain the premium status. If you do not have a Canva Pro subscription, you may need to pay for the additional usage of the premium content.

Yes, you can lock elements before duplicating them. Once an element is locked, it cannot be moved or edited unless you unlock it. However, when you duplicate locked elements, the duplicates will not be locked automatically. You’ll need to lock the duplicates separately if needed.

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