I have 10 .txt files that I dragged and dropped onto the canvas. I clicked on the first one and set it to read as a delimited text file. I clicked on the second file, set it up, and then the third, and on and on. You can see where this is going. Generally speaking, I can copy some or all of a tool's configuration by grabbing the XML and pasting it into a target tool. This is also an imperfect solution as it can take plenty of editing, see above case, it doesn't contain the annotation, and it is not a solution for beginners.
What if I clicked on a given tool, clicked an Import Settings button, and it launched a dialogue box? This dialogue box would ask me to select a tool from the canvas. Once selected, it would let me pick some or all of the configuration settings (include the annotation) and apply them to the current tool. If I clicked on a Select tool, the dialogue box would only show other Select tools, and so on.
Again, I know about copying and pasting XML, about editing it, I've even used Sublime to help with the above case. I know about saving Select tool field configurations. i know about saving a formula. I know about copying a tool itself and pasting it elsewhere. These methods have their uses and some apply only to specific tools or situations. This idea transcends them all.
Please craft an Import Settings button that is friendly for beginners and experts alike. While we're at it, please also allow exporting and saving settings. That way, I can use them in other workflows later on.
