Appendix B — Copying Between Applications
Many nodes in the application tree can be copied and pasted between applications, including: forms, form objects, menu items, methods, Java® utility methods, external libraries, file declarations, choice list declarations, menus, menu items, ribbon sections, ribbon tabs, and ribbon items.
When you copy and paste forms, form objects, and items between applications, the copied objects may contain references to other objects and items. Such references may or may not be meaningful in the application to which it is copied. The following set of rules apply when objects are pasted from the clipboard:
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A declaration referenced in a form object or menu item is included when copying the object, but is not necessarily pasted. It is only pasted if there is no compatible declaration present. If a compatible declaration exists, that is used instead. A compatible declaration is defined as one having the same name and type. For example, a string declaration is not compatible with an integer declaration. An existing declaration may have an invalid default, but no such check is done when pasting.
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A referenced global parameter may have a different unit, but will still be considered compatible.
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A form or form object directly referenced from another form object is not included automatically when copying objects. The direct reference will point to an existing object if it has the same name. If the original reference is among the copied objects, then that object will be used in the reference instead of any existing objects having the same name. The name of the copied reference will be changed to avoid name collisions.
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No objects in the model tree will be automatically copied, for example, a graphics object referring to a geometry or an input field referring to a low-level setting exposed by Data Access. If the reference points to an object that exists in the model tree of the target application, then that reference will be used.
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References to nonexistent objects will be attempted to be removed when pasted. An exception is command sequences in buttons, where all commands are kept and marked as invalid if they point to a nonexistent reference.
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Local methods are included in the copy-paste operation. However, no attempt is made to update the code of the method. This also applies when copying a global method.
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Arguments to commands in the command sequence of a button or a menu item will be left as is.
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All image references are automatically copied and added to the image library when applicable. If there is an existing image with the same name, it will be used instead of the copied version.
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No files, sounds, or methods are automatically copied if referenced to. However, methods can be copied and pasted manually.
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All pasted objects that have a name that conflicts with that of an existing object will be renamed. Any references to the renamed object from other pasted objects will be updated.