# xsl:copy

The `xsl:copy` element causes the current XML node in the source document to be copied to the output. The actual effect depends on whether the node is an element, an attribute, or a text node.

For an element, the start and end element tags are copied; the attributes, character content and child elements are copied only if `xsl:apply-templates` is used within `xsl:copy`.

Attributes of the generated element can be defined by reference to a named attribute set. The optional use-attribute-sets attribute contains a white-space-separated list of attribute set names. They are applied in the order given: if the same attribute is generated more than once, the later value always takes precedence.

The following example is a template that copies the input element to the output, together with all its child elements, character content, and attributes:

    <xsl:template match="*|text()|@*">
        <xsl:copy>
            <xsl:apply-templates select="@*"/>
            <xsl:apply-templates/>
        </xsl:copy>
    </xsl:template>

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