What is the difference between an instance and a link?

Differences between instances and links

Type	Description	Appearance in the Project Explorer
Instance	An actual study object in a study	Study objects that are instances appear in study object containers. For example, all study elements in the Elements container are instances.
Link	A link to a study object in a study.	Study objects that are links appear as children in study object containers. For example, if a study event is a child of a study element in the Elements container, the study element is an instance, and the study event is a link.

Type

Description

Appearance in the Project Explorer

Instance

An actual study object in a study

Study objects that are instances appear in study object containers.

For example, all study elements in the Elements container are instances.

Link

A link to a study object in a study.

Study objects that are links appear as children in study object containers.

For example, if a study event is a child of a study element in the Elements container, the study element is an instance, and the study event is a link.