How to copy and paste

How to Copy & Paste Without a Mouse

Stop right-clicking and use your keyboard instead

What to Know

This article explains how to use keyboard shortcuts to copy, paste, and cut content on Windows or Mac computers. Most programs support the shortcuts included in this article, so you don’t need to worry about learning other shortcuts for copying and pasting.

How to Copy and Paste With the Ctrl/Command Key

Follow these steps to copy and paste text or images in Windows and macOS.

Highlight whatever you plan to copy.

If the program doesn’t let you use your mouse to highlight, select Ctrl+A on your keyboard to select all text, or Command+A if you’re using a Mac.

Long-press the Ctrl or Command key, and select the C key once. You’ve just copied the contents to the clipboard.

Place the cursor where you want to paste the copied content.

Long-press the Ctrl or Command key, and select the V key once to paste the content.

Michael Smith / Getty Images New

How to Cut Content With the Ctrl/Command Key

The above steps are useful if you want to keep the original content and just make a copy elsewhere. For example, if you want to copy an email address from a website and paste it into your email program.

There’s a different shortcut you can use to copy and paste and then automatically delete the original content, called cut. This is useful when you’re re-arranging paragraphs in an email and you want to remove the text or image and insert it elsewhere.

To cut text or images, use the Ctrl+X shortcut in Windows or Command+X in macOS. The moment you select Ctrl/Command+X, the information disappears and is saved in the clipboard. To paste the contents, use the Ctrl/Command+V shortcut.

How to Copy and Paste in Windows 10

Knowing how to cut, copy, and paste text, files, and folders in Windows 10 can save you a lot of time. While you might have a tried-and-true method, there are some tips and tricks that could make doing your tasks even easier and faster. Here’s how to copy and paste in Windows 10.

How to Copy and Paste in Windows 10

You can copy and paste text, files, and folders in Windows 10 using keyboard shortcuts, right-clicking with your mouse, or using the Windows Clipboard. Here are three ways to copy and paste on a Windows 10 PC:

How to Copy and Paste in Windows 10 Using Keyboard Shortcuts

To copy and paste in Windows 10 using keyboard shortcuts, first select the item you want to copy. Then press Ctrl + C on your keyboard to copy. Next, open the destination program or file path and press Ctrl + V on your keyboard to paste.

Note: If you don’t want to keep the formatting of your text when you paste it, you can press the Ctrl + Shift + V keys. This will cause your pasted text to take on the formatting of the text around it, or the standard formatting of the document.

For files or folders, Windows will instantly paste small files. For large file sizes, you will see a progress bar. It will disappear once Windows is done copying the folder. If you are copying files in the same file destination, Windows will append the file name with “ – Copy.”

If you want to see more great Windows keyboard shortcuts, check out our previous blog here.

How to Copy and Paste in Windows 10 Using a Mouse

To copy and paste in Windows 10 using your mouse, select an item and right-click on it. Next, select Copy from the pop-up menu, then go to your destination file or folder path. Right-click again and choose Paste for files or folders or any of the three paste formatting options for text or images.

If you want to copy and paste files or folders, Windows will instantly paste items with small file sizes. For folders with big file sizes, you will see a progress bar at the top. It will disappear once Windows is done pasting the contents of the folder. If you are pasting files with the same name, Windows will add “ – Copy” to the end of the new file name.

How to Copy and Paste in Windows 10 Using the Clipboard

To copy and paste in Windows 10 using the Clipboard, turn on Clipboard history first. Press the Windows key + V and click Turn on. Select the text or image you want to copy, then bring up the Clipboard using the shortcut. Click on the text you want to copy from the Clipboard, then paste it to your destination file or program.

How to Cut and Paste in Windows 10

Cutting and pasting in Windows 10 basically follows the same process as copy and pasting. However, the difference is that cutting will remove the item from the source file or folder to your destination file or folder.

How to Cut and Paste in Windows 10 Using Keyboard Shortcuts

To cut and paste in Windows 10 using keyboard shortcuts, first select the item you want to cut from your source. Press Ctrl + X on your keyboard, then open the destination program or file path. Press Ctrl + V on your keyboard to paste the cut item. Check out the steps below for copying text, images, files, or folders.

How to Cut and Paste in Windows 10 Using A Mouse

To cut and paste in Windows 10 using a mouse, select the text, files, or folders you want to cut, then right-click with your mouse. Click on Cut from the menu, then go to your destination file or folder path. Right-click again and choose either Paste for files or folders or any of three paste formatting options for text or images.

How to Copy and Paste in Windows 10 from Command Prompt

To enable copy-paste from the Command Prompt, open the app from the search bar then right-click at the top of the window. Click Properties, check the box for Use Ctrl+Shift+C/V as Copy/Paste, and hit OK.

Now that you know how to copy and paste on a Windows 10 PC, check out our article to find out how to copy and paste on a Mac.

How to copy and paste

Copy and paste are among the most common — and overlooked — commands found in any operating system, whether it be Windows or MacOS. The function is used to move text in an instant. Still, not everyone knows how to use these features. Thankfully, there are several easy methods for doing so using either your mouse, trackpad, or other peripherals.

Difficulty

Duration

What You Need

Windows 10 or MacOS

Keyboard, mouse, or menu bar

Here’s the rundown on copy and paste.

How to copy and paste in Windows 10 using the mouse

Although Windows PCs have a unifying theme for copy and paste functionality, there are a few different ways to do it. Depending on the software, you can use the mouse, the keyboard, the menu bar — or a combination of all three — to get the job done.

While you can make an argument that some methods are faster than others, the one you choose will mostly come down to personal preference, so we’ll break down each one in turn, and you can then pick which is right for you.

Quick tips

Step 1: Properly selecting the content you wish to reproduce is the first step when copying and pasting. If you’re looking to copy an image, right-click it and select Copy Image to save a duplicate to the clipboard. Then, skip to step 3.

Step 2: Once the content you wish to copy is highlighted, right-click while hovering over any portion of the chosen content and select Copy from the resulting drop-down menu.

Step 3: Once you’ve copied your chosen image, text, or file, place your cursor in the location you wish to copy it to. Then right-click, and select Paste from the resulting drop-down menu.

How to copy and paste in Windows 10 using the keyboard

The second method for Windows 10 involves using keyboard commands. Here’s the step-by-step process.

Step 1: To highlight text with a keyboard, use the Arrow keys to navigate your blinking cursor to the sentence or paragraph you wish to copy, and press the Shift key. Continue to move the cursor over the text you want to duplicate, and a selection box — usually blue — will appear around it. Stop when you have highlighted everything you want.

Step 2: Once your file, text, or image is highlighted, hold down the Ctrl key and press the C key to copy it.

Though the keyboard command for copying is relatively universal, some software-specific macro commands or shortcuts may interfere with the Windows native keyboard commands. If in doubt regarding the proper key combination, look up the command functions directly within the application’s help menu or with a web search.

Step 3: Once the content you want is copied, navigate to where you want to put it, and hold down the Ctrl key once again. This time, though, press the V key. Your image, text, or folder should now be pasted right where you want it.

How to copy and paste in Windows 10 using the menu bar

The third option is to use the menu bar.

Step 1: Many applications have their own menu system to enable copy and pasting, but highlighting what you want to copy will require you to use the mouse or keyboard. Use the methods described above for highlighting what you wish to copy.

Step 2: Once you’ve highlighted your chosen content, look to the top menu bar in your application or folder, and click the Edit or Home button menu.

Step 3: Select Copy from the resulting drop-down menu.

Step 4: If you can’t spot that particular command, look for the classic overlaid paper symbol used in many applications to denote the copy function.

Step 5: Once you’ve copied what you want to duplicate, head to that same drop-down menu and select Paste.

How to copy and paste in MacOS using the mouse

Although Windows and MacOS are different operating systems, they perform copying and pasting similarly. That means it’s just as easy, whether you’re using the mouse, keyboard, or in-app menus.

Quick tips

Step 1: If you’re looking to copy text with your Apple mouse — Magic or not — click and drag the cursor over the portion of the document or webpage you wish to highlight.

Step 2: Once you’ve highlighted what you want to copy, right-click while hovering over any portion of the chosen content, and select Copy from the resulting drop-down menu.

Step 3: Once everything you want is copied, place your cursor in the location you wish to paste the content, hold Control and click, then select Paste from the resulting drop-down menu.

How to copy and paste in MacOS using the keyboard

No mouse? No worries. You can use a keyboard, too.

Step 1: Although it’s a little more limited on MacOS than Windows, you can use the Tab key to jump between text boxes for keyboard selection. When you’ve made it to the section you wish to highlight, hold the Shift key and use the Arrow keys to highlight the text you want to copy. Alternatively, use the mouse to put the pointer where you want it, and then use the above method.

Step 2: Once everything is selected, hold down the Command key and press C to copy.

Though that particular shortcut is fairly universal, some program-specific macro commands or shortcuts may interfere with the MacOS native keyboard commands. If in doubt regarding the proper key combination, look up the command functions directly within the application’s help menu or through a web search.

Step 3: Once everything you want is copied, place your cursor in the location you wish to paste the content, hold down the Command key, and press the V key to paste it in.

How to copy and paste in MacOS using the menu bar

Finally, you can use the menu bar to copy and paste in MacOS. Here’s how.

Step 1: Highlighting is not something most applications do by themselves, so your best bet is to highlight the text, image, files, or folders using one of the methods mentioned above.

Step 2: After you’ve highlighted the data you want to copy, whether it’s an image, text, or both, navigate to the Gear icon or Edit menu.

Step 3: Select Copy from the resulting drop-down menu. You may find this process varies slightly from application to application, but it will be the same in most cases.

Step 4: Copy your selected data to the clipboard and then, click on the file or location where you’ll paste your copied information.

Step 5: Click on the Gear icon if you’re using Mac OS or the Edit menu if you’re using Windows.

Step 6: You will then see a drop-down list of options from which you will select Paste to add what you have copied to your file.

You will save a lot of time and stress when you realize that copying and pasting eliminate the need for manually typing out quotes or waiting for a picture or textbox to download so that you can use it. While browser extensions can help you copy and paste material, knowing how to do it yourself is essential for productivity.

By following these easy guidelines, you will be able to copy and paste any written or visual content to whichever program you choose.

How to Copy and Paste on a Laptop

Use a touchpad, mouse, or keyboard

What to Know

This article explains how to copy and paste on a laptop using a mouse, touchpad, and keyboard. The instructions apply to all programs on Windows and Mac computers.

What Is the Easiest Way to Copy and Paste?

The easiest way to copy text is using keyboard shortcuts. Use Ctrl+C or Command+C to copy and Ctrl+V or Command+V to paste. For files, folders, images, and other multimedia content right-click and select Copy/Paste.

How to Copy and Paste With the Ctrl/Command Key

Follow these steps to copy and paste text on Windows or Mac:

Highlight the content you wish to copy by left-clicking and dragging across the text. You can also hold down a shift key and then use the arrow keys to highlight the text you wish to cut or copy.

Press Ctrl+A (Windows) or Command+A (Mac) to select all text in the active window.

Press Ctrl+C (on Windows) or Command+C (on Mac) to copy the content to your clipboard.

Move the cursor where you want the copied content to appear, then press Ctrl+V (on Windows) or Command+V (on Mac) to paste it.

To cut text or images, use the shortcut Ctrl+X (Windows) or Command+X (Mac). Cutting deletes the original content while saving it to the clipboard.

How Do You Copy and Paste on a Laptop Without Ctrl?

The other option is to highlight the text, right-click the highlighted content, and then select Copy. To paste, right-click where you want the text to go and select Paste.

For folders, files, and images, just right-click the content (no need to highlight) and select Copy. To paste, place the cursor where you want the copied content to appear, then right-click and select Paste.

To copy multiple files in a folder, left-click and drag a selection box around what you want to copy, then right-click on a highlighted item and select Copy. Alternatively, hold down Shift as you make your selection to choose multiple files, then right-click and select Copy.

Copying and pasting can save you a lot of time. If you’re making a spreadsheet, you can select one of the cells and use the appropriate keyboard shortcut to copy the contents. Then, you can select another cell and use the shortcut to paste. If you want to use an image in a document, copying and pasting are much faster than waiting for the image to download and inserting it manually.

Why Can’t I Copy and Paste on My Laptop?

Not all programs and web pages allow you to copy text or other content. Some apps purposely prevent users from copying anything. Google Chrome has an extension called Enable Copy which enables you to copy on restricted web pages.

On the other hand, some apps may use a different keyboard shortcut, or there may be an option to Copy and Paste in one of the app’s menus (look for an Edit tab or a Gear icon).

Other apps have a dedicated Copy button, which may look like two overlapping shapes. A Google search can tell you how to copy and paste in a specific program.

To copy and paste on a Chromebook, right-click and select Copy or Paste, or use the shortcuts Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V. To bring up the enhanced clipboard, press the Launcher key+V to see your five most recently copied items.

To copy text on iPhone, tap and hold the first word you want to highlight, drag until you’ve highlighted all the text you want, then tap Copy. To copy an image or link, tap and hold the object, then tap Copy. To paste, double-tap or tap and hold the screen, then select Paste.

To copy text on Android, press and hold the first word you want to highlight, drag your finger across the text you wish to copy, then tap Copy. To copy images or links, tap and hold them, then tap Copy. To paste, tap and hold the screen, then tap Paste.

Copy and paste in Excel using keyboard shortcuts, the right-click context menu, or the menu options on the Home tab of the ribbon. To select multiple adjacent cells with the arrow keys, press and hold down the Shift key. To select multiple non-adjacent cells with the arrow keys, use the Ctrl key.

How to copy and paste text to a document or another program

This page provides details on how you can copy and paste text or other data from one program or web page to another. We’ve also included keyboard shortcuts, tips, and areas where you can practice copying and pasting text.

Keep in mind that when you copy, you’re duplicating the text. If you want to remove text from one area and place it in another, see: How to cut and paste.

If you want to copy files instead of text, see: How to copy files.

How to copy and paste text on a desktop or laptop computer

Copying text

Highlight the text you want to copy. For example, you could highlight a word, a line, a paragraph, or all the text in the document. Once highlighted, perform any of the steps below.

Right-click the selected text and select Copy.

Click Edit from the top file menu in the program and then click Copy.

Highlight the text and use the shortcut key combination Ctrl + C or Ctrl + Insert on a PC or Command + C on an Apple Mac.

You must highlight or select something before it can be copied.

Pasting the text

Once you’ve completed the steps above, the text is moved into a temporary storage area, known as the clipboard. To paste that text, move the cursor to where you want to paste and perform any of the following steps.

Right-click where you want the text to appear and select Paste.

Click Edit on the top file menu in the program, and then click Paste.

Press the shortcut key combination Ctrl + V on a PC or Command + V on an Apple Mac.

You can paste text in the clipboard as much as you want until something else is stored in it. Also, once something is placed into the clipboard, it can be copied into other documents and programs.

If nothing is in the clipboard, nothing can be pasted; the Paste option will be grayed out. Something must be cut or copied before it can be pasted.

Practice copying and pasting text

Use the two text fields below to copy ( Ctrl + C or Command + C ) the text in the first box and pasting ( Ctrl + V or Command + V ) into the second. After copying and pasting the text, «Example copy text» will be in both boxes.

How to copy and paste text in a document

To copy and paste text in a document, such as a Microsoft Word document, follow the steps below.

Most programs also allow you to right-click with your mouse to copy and paste text.

Practice copying and pasting text

Use the two text fields below to copy ( Ctrl + C or Command + C ) the text in the first box and paste it ( Ctrl + V or Command + V ) into the second. After copying and pasting the text, «Example copy text» is in both boxes.

What keyboard keys copy and paste?

The keyboard key shortcuts for copying and pasting all depends on the type of computer you’re using. Below is a list of the most common types of computers with the shortcut key combinations for copy and paste. Memorizing these two keyboard shortcuts is very helpful as they are some of the most commonly-performed actions on a computer.

PC running Microsoft Windows or Linux

Apple Mac computer running macOS

Google Chrome computer

Apple iPhone and iPad with iOS

There are no keyboard shortcuts for iPhones and iPads. See our copy and paste text on an Apple iPhone and iPad steps on how to copy and paste on these devices.

Google Android phone and tablet

There are no keyboard shortcuts for Google Android devices. See our copy and paste text on an Android smartphone and tablet steps for help with copying and pasting on these devices.

Practice copying and pasting text

Use the two text fields below to copy ( Ctrl + C or Command + C ) the text in the first box and pasting ( Ctrl + V or Command + V ) into the second. After copying and pasting the text, «Example copy text» is in both boxes.

Copy and paste text on an Apple iPhone and iPad

These steps are only for the Apple iPad and iPhone. If you have an Apple desktop or laptop computer, see our desktop and laptop steps.

Copying text

Double-tap (tap twice) your finger on any text. If successful a menu appears, tap your finger on Copy or Select.

You can tripple-tap (tap three times) on a word in a paragraph or sentence to select all text.

To copy more than the default selected text, press your finger on the left or right blue circle, and while pressing down move in the direction you want to select.

Pasting text

Tap once where you want to paste and then tap Paste. If you want to paste this text in a different app, open the other app before pasting the text.

Practice copying and pasting text

Using the two text fields below, try copying the text in the first field and pasting it into the second. After copying and pasting the text, «Example copy text» will be in both boxes.

Copy and paste text on a Chromebook

Copying text

For Chromebooks that have no mouse buttons, you can copy and paste text by following the steps below.

Pasting text

Practice copying and pasting text

Using the two text fields below, try copying ( Ctrl + C ) the text in the first box and pasting ( Ctrl + V ) into the second. After copying and pasting the text, «Example copy text» is in both boxes.

Copy and paste text on a Kindle

Unfortunately, there are no copy and paste options on a Kindle. However, you can Highlight text in any book, which is added to your highlights. After adding highlights, they that can be viewed online or copied from the Kindle to your computer. You can copy and paste any saved highlights using any of the steps mentioned above depending on the device you are using.