Objects are not duplicating

Symptoms

If one or more of these match what you are seeing, you are on the right page.

• •Nothing appears to change after pressing Ctrl+D
• •The Layer Panel gains a row but the canvas looks identical
• •The shortcut works sometimes and not others
• •Duplicating a group produces an unexpected result

Causes and fixes

Ordered from most to least likely. Work down the list — each cause is paired with what to do about it.

1. 1

   The duplicate is stacked exactly on the original.

   Check the Layer Panel — if a new row appeared, the duplicate exists. Drag it, or nudge with the arrow keys, to separate the two.

2. 2

   Nothing is selected.

   Select the element on the canvas or its row in the Layer Panel first. Ctrl+D has no effect on an empty selection.

3. 3

   Keyboard focus is in a text field.

   While a text element or numeric field has focus, shortcuts are consumed by that field. Press Escape to deselect, then duplicate.

4. 4

   The layer is locked.

   Unlock it with the padlock icon in the Layer Panel. A locked layer cannot be selected, and an unselected element cannot be duplicated.

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