Microsoft Word is without a doubt the most popular application when it comes to word processing. You can type up documents with ease, and take advantage of incredible features that make working digitally much easier than grabbing a pen and paper then writing away.
One of these simple yet useful features is copying and pasting any text into your Word documents. When you want to quote something, or need duplicate words in your file, you can simply copy then paste from the original source. This speeds up your work in many ways, as you don’t have to accurately type down the original text yourself.
With our simple guide, you can learn how to copy and paste text in Microsoft Word. Though our guide was written for the perpetual Word 2019, it teaches you the basic principles of copying and pasting text on any version of Word.
Things you’ll need
- A device with Microsoft Word installed and activated.
Let’s get right into the guide.
How to Copy and Paste Text in Word
Method 1.
In this method, we will be looking at how you can copy text from an external source and paste it into Word.
-
Select the text you want to copy. In this tutorial, we’ll be copying a paragraph from Wikipedia to quote an article. Only the selected text will copy into your article, so make sure you select everything you need.
- You can copy the text in one of two ways:
-
Right-click on the selected text, then choose the Copy option. This will place the selected text into your clipboard - if you have Word open, you might even see a notification that the text has been put into the Office Clipboard.
- Use the Ctrl + C shortcut on your keyboard. For Mac users, the shortcut is Command + C.
- If you haven’t opened Word, yet, launch it now. Once Word is open, either open an existing document or create a new one.
- You’re able to paste the text inside your document in a number of ways:
-
Place your cursor where you want to paste your text and right-click. You’ll see a context menu appear, where you can select one of 3 paste options. You can also access this menu from the Home tab in the Ribbon.
You can either keep source formatting, merge formatting or keep text only. When you hover over any of these options, you’ll see a preview of how they’ll look in your document, allowing you to choose what’s best for you.
- After placing your cursor where you want your text to be, use the Ctrl + P shortcut on your keyboard. For Mac users, this shortcut is Command + P.
-
The text you copied is now in your document!
Method 2.
In this method, we’ll be taking a look at the different options you have for copying and pasting text entirely within Word itself.
-
Select the text you want to copy. Only the selected text will copy into your article, so make sure you select everything you need.
- Copy the selected text by using one of these methods:
-
From the Home tab in the Ribbon, click on Copy.
-
Right-click on the selected text, then choose the Copy option from the context menu.
- Use the Ctrl + C shortcut on your keyboard. For Mac users, the shortcut is Command + C.
- Now, you can paste the text anywhere in your document by following one of these methods:
-
Place your cursor where you want to paste your text and right-click. You’ll see a context menu appear, where you can select one of 3 paste options. You can also access this menu from the Home tab in the Ribbon.
You can either keep source formatting, merge formatting, keep text only, or even insert it as an image. When you hover over any of these options, you’ll see a preview of how they’ll look in your document, allowing you to choose what’s best for you.
- If you’re a fan of shortcuts, after placing your cursor where you want your text to be, use the Ctrl + P shortcut on your keyboard. For Mac users, this shortcut is Command + P.
-
The text you copied is now pasted in your document again!
We hope that this guide was able to help you learn the basics of copying and pasting text in Word. Do you know someone who’s starting out with Word and other Microsoft Office products?
Don’t forget to share this article with them! Your friends, classmates, colleagues, or employees can all get help in getting started with Word. If you want to learn more about Word or other Microsoft Office suite applications, feel free to browse our section of guides.
Bonus Tip:
More often we use Ctrl+V to Copy and Paste items multiple times. However, the feature's function has always been limited.
What do you always do when you want to copy the same items multiple times? Well, with Windows 10 build 17666, things are now a breeze. You can now use the clipboard history to paste your items multiple times without using Ctrl+V. to to this,
Press Windows key + V and you will be presented with a new clipboard.
Every time you copy and paste an item, it will be store on the clipboard history. Currently, the clipboard support plain text, images, and HTML code.
You May Also Like:
> How do I insert or delete a page break in Word?
> How to Delete a Page in Word