Illustrator: How do I copy a gradient (including direction) from one object to another?

Question

I know I can copy a gradient (minus direction) from one object to another, but how do I preserve the direction of the gradient? (I'm using Illustrator CS6)

Answer 1

This came up in class recently. Click the Layer’s arrow to see its Sublayers. Click each object to identify its sublayer, so you know which is which.

Pressing OPTION/ALT, drag the little “appearance circle” (right side of sublayer) from the target object onto the destination object’s circle.

This should not only duplicate the colors of the gradient, but also any shape or angle modifications you’ve made.