Copying Pages and Directories#

Use copy_to() to duplicate pages and directories within or across notebooks. The examples assume you already have the source node and destination container.

Copy a Page#

source_page = notebook.traverse("Experiments/Trial 1")
destination = notebook.traverse("Archive")
copied_page = source_page.copy_to(destination)

This creates a new page in the destination directory with the same name and entries.

Copy Across Notebooks#

source_page = notebook1.traverse("Results/Final Results")
destination = notebook2.traverse("Imported Data")
copied_page = source_page.copy_to(destination)

Copy a Directory#

Directories are copied recursively, including their pages and subdirectories:

source_dir = notebook.traverse("2024 Experiments")
destination = notebook.traverse("Archives")
copied_dir = source_dir.copy_to(destination)

Return Value#

copy_to() returns the newly created copy:

new_page = source_page.copy_to(destination)

print(f"Original: {source_page.id}")
print(f"Copy: {new_page.id}")

Important Limitations#

Warning

LabArchives can rename attachment files during copy operations. The file data is preserved, but the copied filename may differ from the original.

Warning

Widget entries and other specialized entry types are not fully supported for copying. Unsupported content can cause errors or incomplete copies.

Best Practices#

  • Test the copy flow on non-critical content first.

  • Verify the copied entry count and spot-check important attachments.

  • If filenames matter, re-read copied attachments and confirm their names.

  • Prefer descriptive destination names so copied content is easy to identify.

Example verification:

original_page = notebook.traverse("Source/Page")
copied_page = original_page.copy_to(notebook.traverse("Destination"))

print(f"Original entries: {len(original_page.entries)}")
print(f"Copied entries: {len(copied_page.entries)}")

Alternatives#

Move Instead of Copying#

If you want to relocate content instead of duplicating it, use move_to():

page.move_to(new_location)

Recreate Content Programmatically#

For simple pages, it can be more reliable to create a new page and rebuild the content yourself:

from labapi import NotebookPage

new_page = destination.create(NotebookPage, "New Page")

for entry in original_page.entries:
    if entry.content_type == "text entry":
        new_page.entries.create(entry.__class__, entry.content)