Inspiring

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Paste in place with multiple artboards hardly ever works. Why?

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Hi there,

I know there have been several discussions about this, but from what I can tell, there has never been a definitive solution to the age old Illustrator problem of why when you copy from one art board and paste into another, it hardly ever works. As a freelance designer I've worked at numerous design agencies and all the designers report the same problem. Why is it so random? I've tried many things over the years (and yes it has been going on for years) and it doesn't matter what you do, most of the time Illustrator refuses to paste into the art board you actually want to paste in to. Sometimes it the same artboard you've just copied from, sometimes it's a random art board you don't want to paste into, and sometimes it's just off all the art boards entirely. Adobe could you please test 'Command F' with multiple art board documents and see if you to experience the same problem. I will quite happily supply you with some of my own files for you to test (I'm running the latest CC software on an iMac with the latest OS).

Kind regards,

Richard

PS And yes I've actively selected the right art board. Sometimes I even draw objects on the art board in order to show Illustrator that this is this artboard I want to paste into and still it refuses to get it right!!!!

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R

richardesignerUKCorrect answer

Inspiring

Hi there

I haven't heard from Adobe, but in the meantime I have sorted this problem.

I mentioned this problem to a designer at work and he said 'it's because you are drag highlighting the elements on the page without actually selecting the artboard'. Dumb founded I drag highlighted the elements I wanted to copy. Then holding down the shift key I clicked on the art board. I then copied the elements, clicked on the artboard I wanted to paste into and pressed 'Paste in place'. It worked!

So the moral of the story is to make sure you activate the artboard you are copying from before copying. Make sure you click the artboard you get the darker outline hi-light confirmation. Then you are good to go.

Sorted!

C

Cheerful_amazement5C39

Participating Frequently

4 years later, still doesnt work.
Thats how Adobe operates. Every year they pack in more half-assed features that nobody asked for, but they neglect the ones that their own users constanylu ask for. It's who they are as a company. They are not working artists.

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Doug A Roberts

Community Expert

Can you list in detail the steps you are taking and what doesn't work? I have no issues with pasting in place from one artboard to another/pasting to multiple artboards.

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DavidMatos

Inspiring

This is very annoying indeed. It seems to be related with copying elements from different layers, as it works when all elements are on the same layer.

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N

nicole_m

Participant

I want to try this SO BADLY this makes me insane all these years, but I can't for the life of me figure how what this means exactly, help someone! LOL

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Monika Gause

Community Expert

You want to achieve what?

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K

karenp4542332

Participant

This tip changed my life, thank you richarddesignerUK

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dannyr48257185

Participant

Hi Richard,

You are a godsend! Thanks so much for this solve, I have been batteling for years to get this right.

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R

richardesignerUKAuthorCorrect answer

Inspiring

Hi there

I haven't heard from Adobe, but in the meantime I have sorted this problem.

I mentioned this problem to a designer at work and he said 'it's because you are drag highlighting the elements on the page without actually selecting the artboard'. Dumb founded I drag highlighted the elements I wanted to copy. Then holding down the shift key I clicked on the art board. I then copied the elements, clicked on the artboard I wanted to paste into and pressed 'Paste in place'. It worked!

So the moral of the story is to make sure you activate the artboard you are copying from before copying. Make sure you click the artboard you get the darker outline hi-light confirmation. Then you are good to go.

Sorted!

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silverquiver1

Participant

THANK YOU.

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R

richardesignerUKAuthor

Inspiring

Ahhh I've just been experimenting. When you have one layer and 'Paste in Place' from one art board to another everything works fine. When I copy from two layers and 'Paste in place' on another art board it all goes bonkers! Especially when you have a lot of items on the art board.

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R

richardesignerUKAuthor

Inspiring

Ooo after more experimenting I think I might have located the problem! Usually I have 4 small invisible (no line, no fill) boxes at each corner of my A3 master art board (in order to line everything up in the same position on each art board). I think it might be these that are throwing Illustrator. When I copy and 'Paste in place' with these boxes at each corner illustrator does it random 'Paste in place' thing. However when I copy without selecting these boxes and 'Paste in place' - viola it works! Maybe the answer is to not place (and copy) anything right at the edge of your art board. Keep everything a few mm's inside the boundary of your artboard :-).

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jane-e

Community Expert

I started a new document and put an object in the corner hanging off the artboard. Paste in Front, Paste on all Artboards, and Paste in Place all work as expected for me.

Are you using Artboard Rulers or Global Rulers? Is your Zero point in the upper left hand corner of each Artboard?

Do you check where Illustrator thinks you are by looking in the status bar?

I am trying to reproduce what you are saying, but cannot!

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