So today I wanted to share a quick guide on how to cut and copy text on Macs. This includes numerous pasting methods regarding formatting’s and external devices. You’re now reading the single best guide on ‘How To Copy And Paste On Mac!’
I also put this post on Medium in case you prefer reading over there!
TABLE OF CONTENTS HERE
Introduction
Whilst copying and pasting on your Mac is a fundamental task, you might not be aware that there are keyboard shortcuts that dramatically improve your efficiency. Instead of having to use your mouse for each action, you can instead use a single keyboard combination.
Copy-Paste Vs Cut-Paste
It’s also important to understand the difference between copying and cutting items. A copy-paste operation leaves the original in place whereas a cut-paste will remove the original item. You can use cut-paste in place of copy-paste if you where going to delete the original item after you had copied it. This saves you time as you aren’t using as many inputs.
Without further waiting, lets jump straight in!
- How to Upgrade MySQL Community to MySQL Enterprise on Red Hat 9
- How to Setup WordPress Backups (FREE!)
- Install NGINX on an Offline RHEL System – 2 Systems Required!
How To Copy And Paste On Mac
Copying Items
So you want to copy and item and paste it elsewhere, this is the section for you! You can also perform this on text, links and files:
Highlight the item you want to copy
Use ‘Command + C’ to copy
Use ‘Command + V’ to paste
It really is that simple. It’s much faster than using the menus or using your mouse.
Cutting Items
If you aren’t looking to keep the original item you want to paste, then this is the option for you. This is mostly used when you want to move a file from one location to another and don’t want to files that are the same:
Highlight the item you want to cut
Use ‘Command + X’ to cut
Use ‘Command + V’ to paste
All finished. You now know the basics of copying and cutting on Mac!
Copy/Cut and Paste With Your Mouse
You can also copy or cut with your mouse, it’s generally regarded as being slower than using the keyboard shortcuts but it also useful to know. You can use the following for this:
Select the item(s) -> Right Click -> Cut or Copy -> Right Click in the destination folder -> Paste
You might have noticed that using the mouse generally removes the special pasting options which are outlined below.
Copy/Cut and Paste With The Menus
So you don’t want to use your keyboard or mouse to perform this action directly? You’re a weird one, eh?
No bother, you can follow the steps below for this:
Select the item(s) -> Chose ‘Edit’ in the Menu -> Select Cut or Copy -> Right click in the destination folder -> Paste
Special Pasting Options
Which using ‘Command + V’ will paste your item(s) usually without issues, sometimes you want to paste without the formatting of the original item. Below are two different methods for removing the formatting from the thing you’re trying to copy or cut:
Paste Without Formatting
This is super simple, same operation of the typical pasting shortcut but you need to hold down an additional key:
Use ‘Command + Option + V’ to paste without the formatting
Paste As Plain Text
Now this one is very similar to the option above, but goes a little further. When used, it will strip any and all formatting from the original item:
Use ‘Command + Shift + V’ to paste as plain text
Where Can I Find The Clipboard On Mac?
The clipboard is super easy to find on Mac, you can find it by going to Finder -> Edit -> Show Clipboard
Almost too simple, right?
Can I Use The Universal Clipboard?
Yes sure, just make you’re using an iOS 10 or newer device. Universal Clipboard was introduced in iOS 10 so it won’t be available in anything older than that.
I’ve included a YouTube video below which shows you these operations in a more visual way!
Conclusion
So now you know all the options that are available to you. If you do have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below!
Hopefully, now you can see how knowing the keyboard shortcuts allows you to save time over navigating to separate graphical menus for every time you want to cut or copy items.
Personally, whenever I see someone not using these shortcuts I just have to roll my eyes so far into the back of my head that I can see my spine…
Enjoy! 🎉
