Copy and move items

In an ArcGIS Pro project, you work with many types of items in the catalog:

• Items such as maps, layouts, and reports that are stored inside the project file (.aprx)
• Items such as folders, file geodatabases, and toolboxes that are stored on local or network computers, and to which you can make item connections
• Items in remote locations, such as enterprise geodatabases and servers, to which you connect through a connection file
• Items such as feature classes, tables, scripts, and geoprocessing models, to which you browse from an item connection

Many of these items can be copied or moved in ArcGIS Pro with copy and paste commands, or by dragging them to new locations in the catalog. You can use the Catalog pane, a catalog view, or both together to copy or move items. For example, you can copy an item in the Catalog pane and paste it in a catalog view. Item connections that support copy and paste—not all of them do—can be copied within a project or from one open project to another.

Copy items with copy and paste commands

You can copy items that support copy and paste using the methods in the table below. When you copy an item, you must paste it into an appropriate item container. You can copy multiple items in the same operation if they can be pasted into the same item container.

Item containers are not physical locations on disk that store content. They are simply categorical representations of your item connections.

Common item containers that appear in a project are shown.

Copy and paste commands

Copy or paste method	Copy	Paste
With ribbon commands	In the Catalog pane or a catalog view, select an item. On the ribbon, click the Map tab. If a catalog view is active, click the Catalog tab instead. In the Clipboard group, click Copy .	In the Catalog pane or a catalog view, select the appropriate item container. On the ribbon, click the Map tab. If a catalog view is active, click the Catalog tab instead. In the Clipboard group, click Paste .
With item context menu commands	In the Catalog pane or a catalog view, select an item. Right-click the selected item and click Copy .	In the Catalog pane or a catalog view, right-click the appropriate item container. Click Paste .
With keyboard shortcuts	In the Catalog pane or a catalog view, select an item. Press Ctrl+C.	In the Catalog pane or a catalog view, select the appropriate item container. Press Ctrl+V.

Note:

The Copy geoprocessing tool and other tools may be able to copy and paste items that can't be copied using the methods listed above.

Copy or move items by dragging

You can copy or move items by dragging them to new locations. Items must be dragged to an appropriate item container. Whether an item is copied or moved is determined by the following rules:

• When you drag an item stored in the project file, such as a map or layout, from one project to another open project, the item is copied.
• When you drag an item connection, such as a toolbox, database, or server, from one project to another open project, the item is copied. Not all item connections support being dragged.
• When you drag a file-based item from one folder to another folder on the same disk, the item is moved. When you drag the item to a folder on a different disk, the item is copied.
• When you drag a database item, such as a feature class, from one database to another, the item is copied. When you drag an item to another location in the same database, such as from one feature dataset to another, the item is copied.
• When you drag a tool from one toolbox to another, the tool is copied.

Note:

You can drag an item from one project to another if the appropriate item container doesn't exist. For example, you can drag a layout to a project that doesn't yet contain a layout. Drag the item to empty space in the Catalog pane, a catalog view, or the Contents pane of a catalog view. The item is copied and appears under its appropriate container.

Items that can be copied and moved

The following project items can be copied or moved:

• Maps
• Layouts
• Reports
• File geodatabases and mobile geodatabases—You can copy a file or mobile geodatabase from one folder to another, or from a folder to the Databases container . If you copy a geodatabase from a folder to the container, the copied geodatabase is stored in the same folder on disk as the original. When you drag a geodatabase from one folder to another, it is copied or moved according to the rules described above.
• Toolboxes
• Notebooks
• Database connections
• Server connections

The following items can be copied. These items can't be added as item connections.

• Database items—When you copy and paste a database item, its related items are also copied. For example, if you copy a feature class that has a related table, the feature class, the table, and the relationship class are all copied. You can also drag a database item to another database or feature dataset to copy it.
• File-based items stored in a folder—When you copy and paste a file-based item that is accessed from a folder, its associated files are also copied. For example, if you copy a shapefile, all its component files are copied. When you drag a file-based item to another folder, it is copied or moved as appropriate.
• Tools—You can copy and paste tools within or between toolboxes and toolsets.

Projects can't be copied or moved in ArcGIS Pro—there are no commands or tools to copy both the project file and its associated files, such as the default geodatabase and default toolbox. However, it is possible to copy the project file (.aprx) with the Save As command. The copied project file contains copies of the items stored within it, such as maps, layouts, and reports, and has the same item connections. To copy the project file, its associated items, and the data referenced by map layers, create a project package.

Copy an item's path

You can copy the path to an item's location and paste it from the clipboard to other resources, such as text files, emails, the Windows Explorer address bar, or web browsers.

1. Make a map view or catalog view active.
2. In the Catalog pane or catalog view, select one or more items.

   You can select item connections, items in folders, portal items, or favorites.

3. On the ribbon, click the Map tab or Catalog tab depending on the active view. In the Clipboard group, click Copy Path .
4. Paste the path into the application of your choice using the application's paste command or by pressing Ctrl+V.

   Tip:

   You can also copy the path for selected items on a browse dialog box. Browse to an item and select it. On the browse dialog box, click the Organize drop-down arrow and click Copy Path .