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How to Copy and Paste on Keyboard

By Rose Barnes, Adult Digital Learning Librarian

Practice you need an easier fashion to move text or images around without having to rewrite a whole paragraph or insert a new photo? The cut, copy, and paste options in Microsoft Word are useful skills to know. They allow you to re-create and paste text or images direct into your document, and motility them around, without having to rewrite everything.

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Have an Oak Park library account? View a brief LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda.com) video lesson (less than five minutes) that explains how to cut, copy, and paste »

Copy, cut & paste using editing ribbon

In the steps below, nosotros'll apply the icons in the Microsoft Word editing ribbon, which is a set of toolbars at the elevation of the Word window.

Top left corner of Microsoft Discussion editing ribbon. Clockwise from left: Paste icon, cutting icon (scissors), re-create icon.

Utilize the cursor and left-click to highlight any text or image within your document that you want to re-create, then let go of the cursor to go on the text or paradigm highlighted.
In the editing ribbon on the top left side, click the copy icon to copy the text to a virtual clipboard. (The re-create icon looks like one slice of paper on top of another. Information technology's betwixt the broom and scissors icons in the editing ribbon.)
If you want to delete the text or paradigm from its original place, click the cut icon to cut (delete) it. It will however be copied onto the virtual clipboard. (In the editing ribbon, the cut icon looks like a pair of scissors.)
Click to the area where you want to paste the copied text or image.
Click the paste icon to paste the copied text or image. (In the editing ribbon, the paste icon looks similar a clipboard with a piece of newspaper on top of information technology. The give-and-take "Paste" is below the picture.)

Hither we'll use the right-click bill of fare (also known every bit a context or popular-up menu). You can utilize these steps to copy and paste text from outside Word into your document (from your email, for example). You tin can also utilise these steps to copy, cut, and paste within your Word document.

Use the cursor and left-click to highlight whatever text or paradigm you desire to copy, then let go of the cursor to keep the text or paradigm highlighted.
Correct-click over the highlighted text or epitome to bring upwards a carte du jour.
Left-click on Re-create on the bill of fare.
If y'all want to delete the text or epitome from its original place, right-click again to bring up the menu, and left-click on Cut in the bill of fare.
Open up the document or click to the area where you desire to paste the copied text or image, and left-click in the space you'd similar to paste.
Right-click to bring up the menu once again, and left-click on Paste. The text or image you copied will then announced.

Keyboard shortcuts

If you lot'd like to copy, cut, and paste without using the right-click menu or the editing ribbon, you can use keyboard shortcuts instead.

Windows users:

Copy: Ctrl+C
Cutting: Ctrl+X
Paste: Ctrl+V

Mac users:

Copy: Command+C
Cut: Command+10
Paste: Control+V

Apply the cursor and left-click to highlight whatever text or prototype yous desire to copy, and so let go of the cursor to proceed the text or prototype highlighted.
On the keyboard, printing the Ctrl push button + C at the same time to copy. (Mac users, press Command+C.)
If you lot want to delete the text or image from its original place, printing the Ctrl push button + X at the same fourth dimension to cut it. (Mac users, press Command+X.)
Open the document where you'd like to paste your text or image, and left-click in the space yous'd like to paste.
On the keyboard, printing the Ctrl button + V at the same time to paste. (Mac users, press Command+V.)

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About Rose

Rose is an Developed Services Librarian specializing in digital learning and all things ebooks. She is a passionate reader, baker, and explorer who is always planning her next adventure.