How To Copy And Paste In Canva (Desktop & Mobile)

These days, none of us have any time to waste. That’s why learning to copy and paste in Canva is such an important skill to master. You don’t have the time to keep making the same elements over and over again. Thankfully, Canva allows you to copy and paste on both desktop and mobile!

To copy and paste an element in Canva, right-click on the desired element and press Copy. Then right-click on the design you wish to paste the copied element into, and choose Paste. You can also press Command + C (Mac) or Control + C (Win) to copy and Command + V (Mac) or Control + V (Win) to paste.

It may seem like an insignificant thing to copy and paste for some, but once you realize how much of a time saver it is, you might realize how much of a game-changer this technique truly is. Today you will learn all the ways you can copy and paste single elements, multiple elements, and even your entire canvas beyond what I just mentioned above!

How To Copy And Paste In Canva Desktop

There are three ways you can copy and paste in Canva. There’s no right or wrong here. It all depends on your workflow.

Copy & Paste Using Right Click

To copy with the right-click method, first select the element you wish to copy. Then right-click (Win) or Control + click (Mac) on it to open the list of options.

Choose Copy from the list.

To paste what you just copied, right-click (Win) or Control + click (Mac) again and then choose Paste.

The copy of your element will be placed somewhere near the original element. You can click on the element itself to move it, but it’s easier to use the Move Button.

Copy & Paste Using Three Dots

Another great way to copy and paste is by using the Three Dots. This relatively new feature in Canva can speed things up.

To find the Three Dots, just click on your element. The Three Dots are in the Mini Icon Bar near the element.

Click on the Three Dots to open the list of options, and select Copy.

To paste a copy of your element, right-click (Win) or Control + click (Mac) and choose Paste.

Use the Move Button to move the copied element exactly where you need it.

Copy & Paste Using Keyboard Shortcut

The last and quickest way to copy & Paste in Canva is using the keyboard shortcut.

To copy an element, first select it. Then, press Control + C (Win) or Command + C (Mac).

To paste the copied element, press Control + V (Win) or Command + V (Mac).

Use the Move Button to adjust the position of the copied element.

How To Drag And Copy In Canva

Dragging to copy elements is much more efficient than using keyboard shortcuts or right-clicking. With this technique, you just hold one key down and drag your element over to duplicate it automatically.

To start, click and hold on to the element you wish to copy, then hold down Alt (Win) or Option (Mac) and drag your mouse away from the element.

An exact copy will be “pulled” from the original to where you need it. In this case, I added a fifth star to the design.

How To Copy From One Design To Another In Canva

When copying and pasting in Canva, you are not restricted to only doing so in the project you’re working on. You can also copy elements from one project to another.

To start, select the first element you need to move to the other project. Then, hold down the Shift Key and select the rest of the elements you wish to copy. Each element you select will have a purple bounding box around it.

Once all your elements are selected, right-click (Win) or Control + click (Mac) on your selection and choose Copy from the list of options. Or, press Control + C (Win) or Command + C (Mac).

Now, open up your second project.

Right-click (Win) or Control + click (Mac) on the canvas and choose Paste from the list of options. Or press Control + V (Win) or Command + V (Mac).

Your copied elements will be placed in the exact same spot where they were copied from your previous project. So if your two projects are the same size, your copied elements will be placed right where it needs to be.

How To Copy And Paste Multiple Elements At Once

One of the most convenient things about being able to copy and paste in Canva is how much time you can save.

For example, if you have a project with many of the same elements, you can group some of them, copy the group and then paste the copied group somewhere else in your project.

To start, add the first few elements to your project.

Now, click on the first element, hold down the Shift Key and select the remaining elements you wish to copy.

Once you have a purple bounding box around each selected element, click on Group. This will form a single purple bounding box around your chosen elements. Canva now considers all the elements you selected as one element.

You can now copy your element and paste it elsewhere on your canvas. Right-click (Win) or Control + click (Mac) on the element and select Copy, then right-click (Win) or Control + click (Mac) again and select Paste.

From here, you can move and rotate your graphic where you need it to be.

How To Duplicate An Entire Page In Canva

What if you need to scrap the current design you’re working on but want to use all the elements within it for the next design? It will take too long to copy and paste all these elements, don’t you think?

Actually, no. It only takes a second to duplicate the page. Simply click on the Duplicate Page Button. This will make an exact copy of the canvas you were working on.

You can now make all the adjustments needed for your project and even add page numbers in Canva to the various pages you create.

How To Copy And Paste In Canva Mobile

The convenience of copying and pasting in Canva is not restricted to your desktop. You can also copy and paste as much as you want on mobile!

Tap and hold on to an element to open up the Bottom Menu. Tap on Copy to copy it and then tap Paste to paste the copied element. The Bottom Menu stays open, so you won’t need to tap ten different times just to copy and paste.

Once your copied element is pasted, you can move it where you need to.

You can also select multiple elements on Canva Mobile. You can do this by selecting your first element, tapping on Select Multiple in the Bottom Menu, and tapping the other elements you wish to copy.

The number of elements you selected will be displayed above the Select Multiple button.

Tap on Copy, then Paste to duplicate the selected elements on your canvas.

When copying and pasting in Canva Mobile, the quickest and easiest way is to avoid the Bottom Menu altogether. It’s faster to tap on your element, then tap on the Duplicate button in the Mini Icon Bar below the element.

This will instantly create a duplicate image that you can move and rotate immediately.

After you have all your copied elements in place, you can make all the adjustments you need for your project.

There’s one more copy-and-paste technique you can use in Canva Mobile: making a copy of your entire canvas by duplicating the page.

To do this, tap on the Page button in the corner of the screen. This will show you all the pages you have in your project. Select the page you wish to duplicate and tap the Duplicate button.

This will make an exact duplicate of the page you selected.