Hamed Arab Academy
Free Blender add-on

Copy a thing and delete a thing

Copy the Box with Shift+D and slide the copy a typed distance, then delete the Disc with X. Blender names the copy Box.001.

Written for version 2.22.0Updated 12 November 2026
All manual pages

Workbook

Free add-on

CAD/CAM Jeweller for Blender.

Download the add-on

What you will do

You will make a second box 15 mm from the first, and delete the Disc. A jeweller copies a form to make a pair, such as two earrings or two claws, and deletes what is not wanted.

Two boxes side by side and a bar behind them, with no disc, on Blender's grid
The end: the Box and its copy 15 mm apart, the bar behind, the Disc gone

About 5 minutes.

Files

Both were made in Blender 5.2.0.

Before you start

  • You can open a file and save a copy of it: Open an exercise file and keep the start file safe (P0-07).
  • You can move a form by a typed number: Move, turn and scale by a typed number (P0-10).

Build it

Step 1. Open the start file and save your own copy

WhereThe top bar: the row of words that begins File, Edit.

DoDownload p0-11-start.blend from Files above and open it. Then choose File > Save As and save it under the name below, in a folder of yours. Open an exercise file and keep the start file safe (P0-07) shows how.

Typemy-copy.blend

You should seeThe 3D view shows a box, a bar and a disc. The Outliner, the list at the top right of the window, lists Bar, Box and Disc, and the title bar, the strip above File and Edit, begins my-copy.

It worked whenThe title bar begins my-copy.

The whole window with the box, the bar and the disc in the 3D view and their names in the Outliner at the top right
Your copy, open

Step 2. Select the Box

WhereThe 3D view: the box in the middle of it.

DoClick the box once.

You should seeThe box has an orange outline. Shift+D copies what is selected, so the box must be selected first.

It worked whenThe box is outlined and the words at the top left of the 3D view name the Box.

The box outlined in orange, the bar and the disc plain grey
The Box is selected

Step 3. Copy it and slide the copy 15 mm

WhereThe 3D view: the pointer stays over it.

DoPress Shift+D, then X, then 1 and 5 on the number row, then Enter.

You should seeA second box stands 15 mm along the X line from the first. Blender named it Box.001, and its row is new in the Outliner. The copy is the selected, active one.

It worked whenThe Outliner lists Bar, Box, Box.001 and Disc, and the words at the top left name Box.001.

The whole window with two boxes in the 3D view, the right-hand one outlined, and a new row Box.001 in the Outliner
Shift+D, X, 15, Enter: Box.001 stands 15 mm from the Box

If it goes wrongTwo boxes stand on one spot: you pressed Esc after Shift+D. Esc stops the move but keeps the copy, which sits on the original. Press Ctrl+Z once, then do it again.

Step 4. Select the Disc

WhereThe 3D view: the flat round disc.

DoClick the disc once.

You should seeThe disc has an outline now, and the boxes do not.

It worked whenThe words at the top left of the 3D view name the Disc.

The disc outlined in orange, the two boxes and the bar plain grey
The Disc is selected

Step 5. Ask to delete with X

WhereThe 3D view: the pointer stays over it.

DoPress X.

You should seeA small box opens at the pointer and asks “Delete selected objects?” with two buttons, Delete and Cancel. Nothing is deleted yet. Esc shuts the box and keeps the disc.

It worked whenThe small box with Delete and Cancel stands in the 3D view.

A small box asking Delete selected objects, with the buttons Delete and Cancel
X asks first

Step 6. Delete the Disc

WhereThe small box that X opened.

DoClick Delete.

You should seeThe disc is gone from the 3D view, and its row has gone from the Outliner.

It worked whenThe Outliner lists Bar, Box and Box.001, and no Disc.

The whole window with two boxes and the bar in the 3D view, and three rows in the Outliner
The Disc is deleted

Step 7. Save your work

WhereThe 3D view: move the pointer over it.

DoPress Ctrl+S.

You should seeBlender writes your copy at once, with no question, because the file already has a name. An asterisk, *, in the title bar marks changes that are not saved, and it goes now. Save your work and get it back (P0-12) says more about saving.

It worked whenThe title bar begins my-copy, and no asterisk stands in it.

No picture: the only change is a message on the status bar, and it fades.

Check your result

What to readWhereWhat it should say
The forms in the fileThe Outliner, at the top right of the windowBar, Box and Box.001 are listed, and Disc is not
The copy’s placeClick Box.001 in the Outliner, then the Item tab: LocationX reads 15 mm
The sidebar on its Item tab with Location X reading 15 mm
The right result: Box.001 clicked in the Outliner, the Item tab showing Location X as 15 mm

Try it yourself

Open your copy again, click the row Box.001 in the Outliner, and press Delete with the pointer over the 3D view: the copy goes at once, with no question. Then press Ctrl+Z: it comes back.

What you learned

  • Shift+D copies what is selected, and the copy is the one that moves. Type X, a number and Enter to place it exactly.
  • A copy takes its original’s name and a number, so the Box’s copy is Box.001.
  • X asks before it deletes. Delete does not ask.

Next: Save your work and get it back