# Clone and Merge

* [Merging Documents](https://www.telerik.com/document-processing-libraries/documentation/libraries/radwordsprocessing/editing/clone-and-merge#merging-documents)
* [Cloning RadFlowDocument](https://www.telerik.com/document-processing-libraries/documentation/libraries/radwordsprocessing/editing/clone-and-merge#cloning-radflowdocument)
* [Cloning Document Elements](https://www.telerik.com/document-processing-libraries/documentation/libraries/radwordsprocessing/editing/clone-and-merge#cloning-document-elements)
* [Cloning Other Objects](https://www.telerik.com/document-processing-libraries/documentation/libraries/radwordsprocessing/editing/clone-and-merge#cloning-other-objects)

## Merging Documents

**RadWordsProcessing** allows you to merge two `RadFlowDocument` instances using the `Merge()` method overloads. The document to which you wish to add content is called *target* and the document from which you wish to take the content is called *source*.

### **Example 1: Import two DOCX files and merge the source document into the target document**

```C#
RadFlowDocument targetDocument;
RadFlowDocument sourceDocument;

DocxFormatProvider docxFormatProvider = new DocxFormatProvider();

byte[] targetByteArray = File.ReadAllBytes("targetDocument.docx");
byte[] sourceByteArray = File.ReadAllBytes("sourceDocument.docx");

targetDocument = docxFormatProvider.Import(targetByteArray, TimeSpan.FromSeconds(10));
sourceDocument = docxFormatProvider.Import(sourceByteArray, TimeSpan.FromSeconds(10));

//targetDocument will contain merged content and styles.
targetDocument.Merge(sourceDocument);
```

The `Merge` method performs two distinct operations:

* Adds all sections from the source document into the target document. The sections from the source document are inserted at the end of the target document.
* Adds all styles from the source `StyleRepository` to the target `StyleRepository`.

You can pass the `MergeOptions` parameter as an argument to the `Merge()` method to better control the merge process. It provides the following customization options:

* `ConflictingStylesResolutionMode`: This option controls how conflicts between styles in target and source style repositories are resolved. Styles are in conflict when they have the same ID (`Style.Id`). Possible values are:

  * `UseTargetStyle`: In case of conflict, the style from the target document stays in the target repository and the style from the source document is not added to the target repository.

  * `RenameSourceStyle`: In case of conflict, the style from the target document stays in the target repository and the style from the source document is added to the target repository with a changed ID (with "\_1" suffix).

**Example 2** shows how to merge documents by specifying the `MergeOptions` parameter.

### **Example 2: Merge documents while renaming conflicting source styles**

```C#
RadFlowDocument targetDocument = new RadFlowDocument();
RadFlowDocument sourceDocument = new RadFlowDocument();
//...
MergeOptions mergeOptions = new MergeOptions()
{
    ConflictingStylesResolutionMode = ConflictingStylesResolutionMode.RenameSourceStyle
};
targetDocument.Merge(sourceDocument, mergeOptions);
```

> tip You can insert one document into another at a specified position using the `InsertDocument()` method of `RadFlowDocumentEditor`. For more information, refer to [Insert Documents](https://www.telerik.com/document-processing-libraries/documentation/libraries/radwordsprocessing/editing/insert-documents).

## Cloning RadFlowDocument

`RadFlowDocument` provides a `Clone()` method, which creates a deep copy of the whole document structure, including all document elements and styles:

### **Example 3: Create a deep clone of an entire RadFlowDocument**

```C#
RadFlowDocument clonedDocument = document.Clone();
```

## Cloning Document Elements

You can create a deep copy of most document elements using the `Clone()` method overloads. The following list shows document elements that provide such methods:

* `RadFlowDocument`
* `Section`
* `Paragraph`
* `Run`
* `Table`
* `TableRow`
* `TableCell`
* `ImageInline`
* `FloatingImage`

The `Clone()` method has two overloads:

* `Clone()`: Creates a deep copy of the document element and associates it with the same document.
* `Clone(RadFlowDocument)`: Creates a deep copy of the element and associates it with the provided `RadFlowDocument`. This allows cloned elements to be added to the element tree of the provided document at a later time and is convenient if you want to move an element from one document to another.

### **Example 4: Clone a Section and associate the copy with a document**

```C#
Section clonedSection = section.Clone(document);
```

> tip With the `DocumentElementImporter` class you can import a document element from one document (source) and insert it into another (target). For more details, refer to [Import Document Element](https://www.telerik.com/document-processing-libraries/documentation/libraries/radwordsprocessing/editing/import-document-element).

## Cloning Other Objects

The following styling objects also implement the `Clone()` method, which you can use to create deep copies of them:

* `Style`
* `List`
* `ListLevel`
* `Watermark`

## See Also

* [Document Model](https://www.telerik.com/document-processing-libraries/documentation/libraries/radwordsprocessing/model/model)
* [RadFlowDocument](https://www.telerik.com/document-processing-libraries/documentation/libraries/radwordsprocessing/model/radflowdocument)