5 Easy Ways To Duplicate A Layer In Illustrator

In this tutorial, you will learn various ways to duplicate or copy layers in Adobe Illustrator.

What Are Layers In Adobe Illustrator?

In Adobe Illustrator, similar to Adobe Photoshop, layers operate much like transparent sheets that stack on top of each other in a very strict hierarchy, referred to as the stacking order. 

Each layer can contain a variety of objects – text objects, shapes, lines, and more.

You can work on one layer, perhaps using the Selection tool to move items around or the free transform tool to adjust their size and shape, without affecting objects on another layer. 

Layers play a vital role in creating complex designs while maintaining an organized workspace – the main layer structure can be previewed through the Layers panel.

5 Ways To Duplicate a Layer in Illustrator?

The easiest way to duplicate a layer in Illustrator is to use the shortcut key, by pressing the Option key on a Mac or ALT key on Windows while clicking and dragging the layer in the Layers panel.

Meantime, the process of duplicating layers in Adobe Illustrator is one of the primary ways to streamline your workflow, reduce errors, and ensure all your design elements are perfectly aligned.

Here are the different methods you can use to duplicate a layer in Illustrator in detail.

Method 1: Copy and Paste In Place

This method will create a duplicate of the original layer of the same objects on a new separate layer in the same exact spot, allowing you to make changes without impacting the original design elements.

Step 1: Select Layer

Use the Selection tool to select the layer you want to duplicate from the Layers panel.

Next, navigate to the Layers panel (usually located on the right side of the Illustrator document). Or open the Layers panel by going to the top menu bar and selecting Windows > Layers.

On the right side of the Layers panel, you will see a small circle on every layer, click on the one you wish to duplicate.

This indicates that the entire layer has been selected, including every selected object you want in that layer.

Step 2: Paste Remembers Layers

Next, go to the right-hand corner of the Layers panel and select the options menu with the three lines. A fly-out menu will appear.

If you want to paste the duplicated objects in the same layer, check the option that says Paste Remembers Layers. This enables you to maintain your layer structure after pasting what you have copied.

If you wish to duplicate them into a new layer, make sure to uncheck the Paste Remembers Layers option.

Step 3: Copy Objects

With the layer selected, you will see that all the objects in this selected layer will be selected and the bounding boxes are activated. Next, go to the top bar Edit menu, and select Edit > Copy to copy objects in the layer.

Or press Command + C on Mac.

Or Ctrl key + C on Windows. 

Or right-click on the selected object or text on your artboard and choose Copy from the pop-up menu.

This action will copy the selected layer and store it in your clipboard.

Step 4: Paste In Place

Now it’s time to paste the layer back into your document on a new layer.

Go to the bottom of the Layers panel, and select the Create New Layer button. It is a box with a plus (+) sign inside.

A new layer appears in the Layers panel.

You can rename it by double-clicking the name of the layer.

Make sure the new layer in the Layers panel is selected and highlighted.

Next, go to the top bar menu and select Edit > Paste In Place.

Or press Shift + Command + V on Mac.

Or Shift + Ctrl + V on Windows. 

Method 2: Drag and Drop Objects Between Layers

You will use this method to duplicate a layer when you only need a handful of selected objects from the original layer. You won’t wish to duplicate a layer that may have hundreds of objects to filter.

Instead, you will manually pick the objects you want and duplicate them to a new layer. Here are the steps:

Step 1: Start a New Layer

Go to the Layers panel options menu, and select the Create New Layer button.

Step 2: Drag and Drop Duplicated Object

To duplicate layers, simply select the group of objects and drag them to another area in the artboard together with the keyboard shortcut key, Option on a Mac, or ALT on Windows. 

Release both the keyboard key and mouse button to place the duplicated object.

Step 3: Change the Layer

Next, view all sub-layers in the original layer by clicking on the right-pointing arrow in the Layers panel. You will see that there are two sets of the same objects.

Next, manually select only the object layers you want to bring over to the new layer. If your duplicated objects are selected, you will see that the layer or sub-layer will be highlighted.

Click on it and drag it to the new layer.

You now have a duplicated layer with the same selected objects.

Method 3: Drag and Drop Layer With Multiple Objects

Another method to duplicate a layer in Illustrator involves copying the original layer to create the same exact replica in the Layers Panel. This method is great if you want to retain all objects in the original layer.

For this method, you don’t have to start a new layer. Here are the steps:

Step 1: Select Layer

Open up the Layers panel. Then, use the Selection tool to select the layer you want to duplicate.

Step 2: Click and Drag the Layer

While holding down the Option key on Mac or ALT key on Windows, click and drag this layer onto any empty space on the Layers panel.

As soon as you release the cursor and keyboard key, an exact copy of it will be created.

Method 4: Duplicate From the Options Menu

If you don’t wish to drag and drop to duplicate a layer, you can make use of the Layers panel options menu.

This method creates an exact duplicate of one selected layer so that any changes you make to it won’t affect the original version. 

Here are the steps:

Step 1: Select Layer

Open up the Layers panel. Then, use the Selection tool to select the layer you want to duplicate.

Step 2: Open the Options Menu

Next, go to the right-hand corner of the Layers panel and select the options menu with the three lines. A fly-out menu will appear.

Select Duplicate Layer.

In this example, the layer I want to duplicate is named “Layer 2”, in this case, I will select Duplicate “Layer 2”.

Method 5: Duplicate Multiple Layers

This method helps you easily create multiple copies of your selected layers in exactly the same configuration that they were in before, all at once.

This is a huge time-saver because it eliminates the need for you to manually duplicate each layer individually, which can be tedious and slow. Here are the steps:

Step 1: Select Multiple Layers

First, select all the layers you want to duplicate by holding down the Shift key while clicking on all the layers.

Step 2: Duplicate Multiple Layers

Then go to the Layers panel options menu and select Duplicate Selection from the fly-out menu.

Duplicating Layers in Adobe Illustrator FAQs

Then, click on the new layer and press Shift + Command + V on Mac or Shift + Ctrl + V on Windows to Paste In Place. Or you can also press Command + F on Mac or Ctrl + F on Windows to Paste In Front.

Then, copy the objects in the selected layer by using Command + C (Mac) or Ctrl + C (Windows) and go to the other Illustrator file, and press Command + V (Mac) or Ctrl + V (Windows).

Then, press Command + D on Mac or Ctrl + D on Windows as many times as you like to repeat the last copy-and-paste action you did multiple times.