How do I copy and paste in BioRender?

Copying and pasting within a single illustration, between BioRender illustrations, or from the web into BioRender.

Tawny avatar
Written by Tawny
Updated over a week ago

Need to duplicate icons, grouped icons, shapes, lines, or other objects? You can easily copy and paste them within a single illustration or between multiple illustrations. Utilize keyboard shortcuts or the menu to execute the copy-and-paste function.

Note: BioRender objects cannot be directly copied and pasted into other programs such as PowerPoint. To use them elsewhere, you must export your figure.

Copy-paste within BioRender

To copy and paste an object within BioRender:

  1. Select the object(s) you want to copy, and press Ctrl + C (Mac: Cmd + C). Alternatively, click Edit, then click Copy from the top menu.

  2. Click Ctrl + V (Mac: Cmd + V) to paste your object(s), or click Edit > Paste.

Additional keyboard shortcuts for copy-paste:

  1. Select an object, then hold down Alt (Mac: Option) while dragging to make a copy while leaving the original in place.

  2. Ctrl + Shift + V (Mac: Cmd + Shift + V) to paste in place.


Copy-paste between BioRender illustrations

To copy-paste between BioRender illustrations, open two browser windows and use regular copy-paste within a single illustration.


Copy-paste an image from other websites into BioRender

You can easily bring images and vector files (like png, jpg, eps, and SVG) to BioRender from other programs or websites. There are two simple ways to paste them in from other websites.

  1. Find the image on the web that you want to add to BioRender.

  2. Copy-paste (Ctrl+C and then Ctrl+V; Cmd+C and then Cmd+V on Mac) the image into BioRender.

  3. Name your icon for easier search later.

  4. Click Upload ⬆.

  5. The object will be added directly to your canvas.

Note: The uploaded images are saved in Uploads ⬆on the left toolbar for later use.


If you have any questions or concerns:

Open our chat messenger (bottom-right of any BioRender web page).

Did this answer your question?