The COPY ELEMENT command uses an existing library element to copy and create a new element in the same library or in another library. The original element is left unchanged. The generation history, file characteristics, and element attributes are copied in full. If the existing element has the reference copy attribute enabled (that is, if it was created or modified with /REFERENCE_COPY), the reference copy attribute is also enabled for the new element (assuming the reference copy attribute is established for the library). If the existing element is reserved when you issue COPY ELEMENT, CMS informs you of the condition, then proceeds with the transaction. The new element is not reserved, regardless of whether the original element is reserved at the time of the copy transaction. If a generation of the element is marked pending review, CMS informs you of the condition, then asks whether you want to proceed. If you type YES, CMS records the transaction as an unusual occurrence and proceeds with the command. The new element is not marked as pending review, regardless of whether the original element is marked at the time of the copy. If you type NO or press RETURN, no further action is taken. CMS must be able to create one new element for each old element. When you use wildcards, a group name, or a comma list in the input element specification, CMS builds a list of elements to be copied. CMS uses this list as the point of reference during the copy transactions. If the output element specification does not allow CMS to create a new element for each element in the input list, the results may not be what you intend. For example, the following combination of wildcard expressions produces only one new element: input element specification - *.FOR output element specification - NDATA.* The first element that matches the input specification (*.FOR) produces one new element named NDATA.FOR. Each successive element that matches the input specification generates an error message because CMS can create only one unique element name from the given combination of wildcard expressions.