Pasting layers and content

A paste lands in a parent chosen from the current selection and keeps its position where it can. This page covers where a paste lands, Paste to replace, pasting text and bitmaps onto a selection, and the messages that refuse a paste.

Where a paste lands

Where: Ctrl + V, or right-click → Paste. The context menu follows the same rules as the shortcut; right-clicking a layer outside the selection selects it first.

Selection when you paste	Where the content lands
Nothing, on the page you copied from, when everything copied came from one parent	In that parent, on top, at the same position.
Nothing, when the layers were copied straight from a page, in any document	On this page, on top, at the same position.
Nothing, in any other case	On the page, centered in the view.
One frame, artboard, component or component set	Inside it, on top. In a Flex frame it becomes the first item.
The frame you copied, still selected	In that frame's parent, directly above it.
One layer that is not a frame, or several layers with the same parent	In that parent, directly above the layer you selected first.
One layer that is not a frame, or several layers with the same parent, inside a Flex or Grid frame	In that frame. In a Flex frame it becomes the item right after the layer you selected first.
An instance, or layers inside an instance	Never inside the instance: in the parent of the instance (the outermost one, when instances are nested), directly above it, or the item right after it in a Flex or Grid frame.
Layers with different parents	In their closest common parent, on top.
A text layer you are editing	Copied text goes in at the caret. Copied layers follow the rows above.

• Position. Content pasted into its original parent keeps its coordinates, and so do layers copied from a page and pasted onto a page, from any page or document. In another frame each axis is decided on its own: the coordinate stays where the content would overlap the frame, and the content is centered on that axis otherwise. The view scrolls to the result.
• A frame that can't hold the content, such as a component pasted into a component, gets it pasted outside instead, and a message says so.

Pasting from Figma follows the same rules; what is specific to it is on Import.

Paste to replace

Where: Ctrl + Shift + V, or right-click → Paste to replace.

Paste to replace swaps every selected layer for the clipboard content, centered on the replaced layer. The content takes over that layer's place in its layout.

• In a Flex or Grid frame, the replacement inherits the item's order, cell, span, alignment and Fill setting. A frame that replaces a Flex or Grid frame also inherits its Hug content setting.
• Outside a managed layout, the replacement inherits the layer's Constraints and aligns to the edge the layer was pinned to.
• Paste to replace is disabled for layers inside an instance and for slots.

Pasting text and bitmaps onto a selection

• Plain text pasted with exactly one text layer selected replaces that layer's whole content. With any other selection it becomes a new text layer.
• While you edit text, Ctrl + Shift + V is Paste without formatting instead: it inserts the clipboard's text and drops its formatting.
• One bitmap image pasted with Ctrl + V while only shapes or vector layers are selected becomes their fill instead of a new layer.

Clipboard version messages

Copied layers, and formatted text copied out of a text layer, include the app version loaded in the tab they were copied in. A tab left open during an update can run an older version than a tab opened later. A paste between tabs whose versions differ is refused with one of two messages. Both also apply to layers converted from another tool's clipboard.

Message	Cause	Fix
Could not paste outdated clipboard data.	The content was copied in a tab that runs an older version than this one.	Reload the tab you copied in, then copy again.
Could not paste clipboard data copied from a newer app version. Reload the editor and try again.	This tab runs an older version than the one the content was copied in.	Reload this tab, then paste again.

Pasting into another document

What a paste into another document brings along and what it leaves behind — components, variables, actions, images and fonts — is listed on Reusing components across documents.

Related

• Components and instances — what a paste within one document creates: an instance, a variant, or a moved component.
• Binding rules and edge cases — bindings on duplicated and pasted layers.
• Import — bringing in files and pasted content from other tools.
• Keyboard shortcuts — macOS forms of the shortcuts above.