Copying, Pasting, and Duplicating Nodes
It is possible to copy and paste many of the nodes in the Model Builder to create additional nodes with identical settings or to paste it into another model and between COMSOL Desktop sessions. That is, you can paste the node into a model in a new COMSOL Desktop session. Some nodes can also be duplicated underneath the original node. You can also move, copy, and duplicate nodes using “drag-and-drop” of nodes in the Model Builder.
Duplicate () is a convenient way to copy and paste in one step. In other words, it combines the Copy and Paste functions. When nodes are duplicated, the COMSOL Multiphysics software adds identical nodes underneath the original nodes on the same branch. You can duplicate most but not all nodes.
Nodes that can be copied and duplicated include the following:
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Functions, which are possible to copy from one Definitions or Global Definitions branch to another. Also see Functions and Global Definitions, Geometry, Mesh, and Materials.
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Parameters, variables, variable utilities, and physics utilities. Also see Predefined and Built-In Variables, Matrices and Matrix Operations, Variable Utilities, and Physics Utilities.
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Selections. Also see Creating Named Selections.
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Moving Mesh and Deformed Geometry nodes. Also see Deformed Geometry and Moving Mesh.
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Coordinate systems, nonlocal couplings, and mass properties. See also Coordinate Systems and Nonlocal Couplings and Coupling Operators.
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Probes. Also see Probes.
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Material nodes. Also see Materials.
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Nodes for lighting and hiding in the View branch. Also see User-Defined Views.
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Physics and multiphysics feature nodes, which can be copied within the same physics interface or to another identical physics interface. You can also copy an entire physics interface to another model, for example. Also see The Physics Interfaces.
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Geometry sequences, for which there are two ways to copy and paste geometry objects. Using the Transforms>Copy operation (that keeps the nodes linked to one another), or a standard copy and paste (see Copying and Pasting Geometry Objects). It is also possible to copy, paste, and duplicate nodes corresponding to operation features, such as the Union node.
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Study steps, which are possible to copy from one Study branch to another. Also see Studies and Solvers.
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Derived value nodes. Also see Derived Values, Evaluation Groups, and Tables.
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Export nodes. Also see Exporting Data and Images.
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Views. Also see User-Defined Views.
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Pairs. Also see Identity and Contact Pairs.
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Plot nodes, which are possible to copy from one plot group to another, and their attributes (subnodes). Also see Plot Groups and Plots.
The copied object must be pasted into a model component with the same space dimension. For example, a Sphere can only be pasted into a 3D model.
How to Copy, Paste, or Duplicate Nodes
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On the Quick Access Toolbar (Windows users) or from the main Edit menu (macOS and Linux users), click Copy (), Paste (), or Duplicate ().
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Right-click a node and select Copy, Paste, or Duplicate.
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To paste a node, and after selecting Copy, click the parent node and right-click to select Paste Heat Flux to paste a copied node (a Heat Flux node in this case) to the parent node’s branch.
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Create a copy of a node by Ctrl-clicking it and dragging a copy to an applicable location. A small plus sign at the cursor indicates that you drag a copy of the selected node.
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Ctrl-click and drag a duplicate to an applicable location. A small plus sign at the cursor indicates that you drag duplicates of the selected nodes.
Some nodes, typically default nodes in some physics interfaces, are so-called singleton nodes; that is, there can only be one such node in one and the same physics interface. Such nodes, for example the Gravity node in fluid-flow interfaces, when copied, are not possible to paste into the model.