Microsoft Word, part of the Office suite, is undoubtedly one of the most popular text editors for computers. Over the years, it has evolved into a powerful program with numerous functions and customizable parameters. While it’s commonly used for creating documents, it offers a plethora of tools related to formatting and text manipulation. Whether you’re an average user or a professional, Word has features to meet your needs.
One common task when using Word is copying and pasting content. Often, we copy text from various sources to the Windows clipboard and then paste it into our Word document. However, due to Word’s extensive formatting options, this seemingly simple task can become a bit cumbersome. Microsoft Word provides various pasting methods and modes, even though what most users typically want is to paste text from the clipboard without any formatting.
How to Always Paste Plain Text in Word
In the majority of cases, pasting the original formatting of text from the source into your Word document isn’t necessary. Instead, what you likely want is to paste plain text by default. Here’s a simple trick to achieve this:
- Click on the “File” menu in Word and select “Options.”
- In the new window that appears, go to the “Advanced” option on the left panel.
- In the right panel, locate the section that says “Cut, copy, and paste.”
- In the first two drop-down lists, select the option “Keep text only.”
From now on, whether you paste text from other Word documents or external sources, it will always be pasted without the original formatting into your Word document. This customization will make using Ctrl + V much more convenient for you.
Another Method: Pasting Without Formatting
If you prefer to keep the default paste settings but occasionally need to paste plain text, here’s another method:
- Copy the text you want to paste.
- Within Word, right-click where you want to paste the text.
- A menu will appear, offering three ways to paste text. Select the third option to paste the text without formatting. This will remove any links, bolding, or other unwanted elements from the original text you’re copying.
These methods will help you streamline your copy-paste tasks in Microsoft Word, ensuring that you always get the plain text you need.
