Copying an Object or Folder (Copy / Paste)

Use

The Portal Catalog lets you create portal objects by copying existing objects using the Copy and Paste actions available in the Portal Catalog context menu.

Note the following:

Use only the Copy and Paste actions in the Portal Catalog context menu. Do not use the Copy and Paste commands that belong to the Web browser.
The portal utilizes an internal clipboard to retain items you have copied; items in the clipboard of your operating system are not affected.
To move an existing object to a new location, use Cut instead of Copy (see Moving an Object or Folder (Cut / Paste) .
You can also use the content mirroring tool to duplicate folders and their content; however the resulting delta links are different than those created when using the Copy and Paste actions on a folder. For more information, see Mirroring Portal Content and What Is Content Mirroring?

Procedure

In the Portal Catalog, in the context menu of the object or folder you want to copy, choose Copy .
From the context menu of the destination folder, choose Paste .

The Paste wizard appears.
Note
Until the Paste action is completed, the wizard locks the following objects:
- The selected object or folder, and the objects in it
- The destination folder

When you copy individual objects and choose Paste , you are requested to specify the paste method for the selected object:

Paste Method	Description
Create a copy	Creates a sibling instance of the object you have copied to the Clipboard. See the figure in the Example section that follows. Sibling objects are not directly related to one another through a delta link; however, they share the same source object via delta link. At the time the objects are copied, the source object and the new instance are identical; however they may become different over time since they do not belong to the same delta link chain. Typically, you would use the Create a copy method when the source object is similar enough to what is needed for another role or location in the Portal Catalog. Adjustments can be made as needed to the new object for its new context or role.
Create a delta link	Creates a delta link instance (also referred to as the "target object") to the source object. See the figure in the Example section that follows. Use the Create a delta link method to create object dependencies and to extend delta link chains (see How Are Portal Objects Linked? ).

Paste Method

Description

Create a copy

Creates a sibling instance of the object you have copied to the Clipboard. See the figure in the Example section that follows.

Sibling objects are not directly related to one another through a delta link; however, they share the same source object via delta link.
At the time the objects are copied, the source object and the new instance are identical; however they may become different over time since they do not belong to the same delta link chain.

Typically, you would use the Create a copy method when the source object is similar enough to what is needed for another role or location in the Portal Catalog. Adjustments can be made as needed to the new object for its new context or role.

Create a delta link

Creates a delta link instance (also referred to as the "target object") to the source object. See the figure in the Example section that follows.

Use the Create a delta link method to create object dependencies and to extend delta link chains (see How Are Portal Objects Linked? ).

Note

When you copy a folder, you cannot specify a paste method. The source folder and its contents are copied to the new destination as a copy, and not as a delta link.

Complete the wizard.

When you choose Create a copy , and when you copy a folder, the wizard first performs a series of verification steps before proceeding. For more information, see: Verification Criteria

Certain semantic objects may perform additional background checks, which are not mentioned here.

Result

The selected objects are successfully copied to the destination folder. All objects that were locked by the system as a result of the action are released.

The new objects and folders inherit the permissions of the destination folder.

Note

If you cancel the action or if the action is interrupted, the Portal Catalog is restored to its initial state.

Caution

You can only see whether an object was added as a copy or as a delta link in the properties of the linked object. Copies only have the property PCD Location , which displays the ID of the child object that was added as a copy, whereas delta links have the additional property Delta Link Target . For more information, see Adding an Object as a Delta Link or as a Copy .

Example

The following figure illustrates the results of using the copy and paste actions available in the Portal Catalog context menu.

Figure: Creation of objects using copy/paste commands in the portal, illustrating the resulting delta-link dependencies between objects

More Information