Copy and paste text or files on a Mac computer or laptop
Do you want to move something from one location to another? It's easy to copy and paste text on your computer using keyboard shortcuts, your trackpad, and built-in menu bar. You can also copy and paste files if you need to move them to a different folder. This wikiHow will show you how to copy and paste on a Mac or MacBook with or without a mouse.
Quick Steps
- Select the text you want to copy and paste.
- Press Command + C to copy.
- Navigate to where you want to paste.
- Press Command + V to paste.
Steps
Section 1 of 5:
Using Keyboard Shortcuts
-
Select the text you want to copy. Click and drag the cursor to highlight the text you want to copy in your document or on a website. [1] X Research source
- Using keyboard shortcuts may be an easier way to copy and paste for some Mac Pro users.
- If you can't use your mouse to highlight the text, press Command + Tab to make sure the correct window is highlighted. Then, use the arrow keys to place the cursor at the start of the text. Hold Shift and use the arrow keys to place the cursor at the end of the text. This should highlight it.
-
Press ⌘ Command + C . This keyboard combination will copy the selected text to your clipboard. [2] X Research source
- Some keyboards may show Command as CMD or a bowen knot icon.
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Go to the place in which you want to paste the text. You can paste text into any text field or document.
-
Press ⌘ Command + V . This keyboard combination will paste the copied text. [3] X Research source
- Alternatively, use Paste Special
. These options can be accessed by pressing Control
+ Command
+ V
, within the control-click menu, or in the Edit
menu.
- If you're pasting formatted text into a document, you can click Paste and Match Style or press Shift + Option + Command + V to format the text with the document's style. This can be helpful if you copied text that has a different size or font style and only want to paste the plain text. [4] X Research source
- Depending on the application you're pasting to, you may see other options, such as Paste Formatted , Paste HTML text , Paste Object , or other.
- If you made a mistake, you can press Command + Z to undo the paste action.
- Alternatively, use Paste Special
. These options can be accessed by pressing Control
+ Command
+ V
, within the control-click menu, or in the Edit
menu.
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Section 2 of 5:
Using a Trackpad
-
Enable secondary click. You must have this feature enabled in order to use the trackpad to copy and paste. Be sure to update your Mac computer . [5] X Research source
- Click the Apple logo in the top-left corner of the screen.
- Click System Settings → Trackpad → Secondary click .
- Select "Click with two fingers".
-
Find the text you want to copy. Go to the document or folder where the content is located.
-
Select the text. To select text, click and drag your mouse across it to highlight it.
-
Two-finger click the selected text. Place the mouse cursor over the selected text, and then press the trackpad with two fingers. This will open a drop-down menu. [6] X Research source
- This is how you right click on a Mac .
-
Click Copy . It's in the drop-down menu. Doing so will copy the selected text to your Mac's clipboard.
-
Go to the place in which you want to paste the text. You can paste text into any text field or document.
-
Two-finger click a text field or a blank space. A drop-down menu will appear.
-
Click Paste . It's in the drop-down menu. You should see your text appear in the selected space.
- Alternatively, use Paste Special
. These options can be accessed within the control-click menu or by pressing Control
+ Command
+ V
. You can also access them in the Edit
tab for most applications, such as Word and Pages.
- If you're pasting formatted text into a document, you can click Paste and Match Style to format the text with the document's style. This can be helpful if you copied text that has a different size or font style and only want to paste the plain text.
- Depending on the application you're pasting to, you may see other options, such as Paste Formatted , Paste HTML text , Paste Object , or other.
- Alternatively, use Paste Special
. These options can be accessed within the control-click menu or by pressing Control
+ Command
+ V
. You can also access them in the Edit
tab for most applications, such as Word and Pages.
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Section 3 of 5:
Using Control-Click
-
Highlight the text you want to copy. To select text, click and drag your mouse across it to highlight it.
-
Hold Control and click the text. This will open a menu.
-
Click Copy . This will copy the selected text to your Mac's clipboard.
-
Go to the place in which you want to paste the text. You can paste text into any text field or document.
-
Hold Control and click a text field or a blank space. This will open a menu.
-
Click Paste . It's in the drop-down menu. You should see your text appear in the selected space.
- Alternatively, use Paste Special
. These options can be accessed within the control-click menu or by pressing Control
+ Command
+ V
. You can also access them in the Edit
tab for most applications, such as Word and Pages.
- If you're pasting formatted text into a document, you can click Paste and Match Style to format the text with the document's style. This can be helpful if you copied text that has a different size or font style and only want to paste the plain text.
- Depending on the application you're pasting to, you may see other options, such as Paste Formatted , Paste HTML text , Paste Object , or other.
- Alternatively, use Paste Special
. These options can be accessed within the control-click menu or by pressing Control
+ Command
+ V
. You can also access them in the Edit
tab for most applications, such as Word and Pages.
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Section 4 of 5:
Using the Menu Bar
-
Go to the text you want to copy. You can copy text in order to paste it into another document or text field.
-
Select the text. To select text, click and drag your mouse across it to highlight it.
-
Click Edit . It's on the left side of the menu bar that's at the top of your Mac's screen. A drop-down menu will appear.
-
Click Copy . You'll see this option in the Edit drop-down menu. Doing so copies any selected text to your Mac's clipboard.
-
Go to the place in which you want to paste the text. You can paste text into any text field or document, such as a Pages file or TextEdit document .
- If you're pasting text into a text field, make sure you click the text field before proceeding.
-
Click Edit . It's in the menu bar. The drop-down menu will reappear.
-
Click Paste . It's in the drop-down menu. You should see your text or file(s) appear in the selected space.
- Alternatively, use Paste Special
. These options can also be accessed in the Edit
menu, within the control-click menu or by pressing Control
+ Command
+ V
.
- If you're pasting formatted text into a document, you can click Paste and Match Style to format the text with the document's style. This can be helpful if you copied text that has a different size or font style and only want to paste the plain text.
- Depending on the application you're pasting to, you may see other options, such as Paste Formatted , Paste HTML text , Paste Object , or other.
- Alternatively, use Paste Special
. These options can also be accessed in the Edit
menu, within the control-click menu or by pressing Control
+ Command
+ V
.
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Section 5 of 5:
-
Select a file to copy. You can select a file by clicking it once.
- If you want to select multiple files at once, hold down the Command key while clicking each file.
-
Click Edit . It's on the left side of the menu bar that's at the top of your Mac's screen. A drop-down menu will appear.
-
Click Copy . You'll see this option in the Edit drop-down menu. Doing so copies any selected files to your Mac's clipboard.
- You can also use the keyboard shortcut Command + C . [7] X Research source
-
Go to the place in which you want to paste the file. Files can be pasted into most folders on your computer.
- Use the Finder to find a specific location.
-
Click Paste Item . If you copied multiple files, you'll see Paste (number) Items .
- This will place a copy of the file in the specified location.
- If you want to move files with copy and paste, hold the Command
key while the Edit
drop-down menu is open. Paste Items
will change to Move Items Here
.
- This will remove the file from the original location and move it to the new location.
- You can also use the keyboard shortcut Option + Command + V .
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Community Q&A
Search
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QuestionHow do I copy and paste without a command?Community AnswerHighlight the text. Click with two fingers at once, then press Copy. Go to the place you want to insert it. Click with two fingers at once, and press Paste.
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QuestionHow do I switch between applications on my Mac?Community AnswerIf your application is in full screen mode and you don't know how to exit, press the key marked "esc" in the very top left hand corner of your keyboard to exit. If you want to open a new application, drag your mouse down the bottom of the screen, and the "dock" will appear. (This is sometimes on the right hand or left hand side of the screen instead.) The dock contains a selection of applications, but not all of them. The rest are located in the launchpad. Click on the grey rocket icon in the dock to open launchpad.
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QuestionHow do I email a lot of people at once on a mac?Community AnswerGo to your email, compose your letter, and then add all the people at once to the addressee.
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Tips
- If you want to paste content between your linked Apple devices, you can use the Universal Clipboard feature. Both devices must be signed into the same Apple account, have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on, and have Handoff enabled. When you copy content on one device, it will be added to the clipboard of your other nearby device. You can then paste it on your other device. [8] X Research sourceThanks
- If you have a Mac with a mouse (e.g., an iMac), pressing the right side of the mouse will prompt a drop-down menu with Copy and Paste options.Thanks
- You can use the "Cut" feature to delete text from a document or text field after copying it to your clipboard. You'll find Cut in the Edit drop-down menu, or you can press Command + X to cut selected text.Thanks
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Warnings
- Copying another item or piece of text before you have a chance to paste the last-copied item or piece of text will overwrite the previously copied information. This can be disastrous if you're copying and pasting sensitive information between documents or folders.Thanks
- Some text won't be viewable in certain contexts. For example, copying a text message with emoji in it from your Mac's Message app and pasting it into a text field on Facebook or similar may result in some of the emoji not showing up.Thanks
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References
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/102553
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/102553
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/102553
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/102553
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/right-click-mh35853/mac
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/right-click-mh35853/mac
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/102553
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/102430
About This Article
Article Summary
X
1. Select the text or file(s) you want to copy.
2. Click Edit
, then click Copy
.
3. Go to the location in which you want to paste the copied item(s).
4. Click Edit
, then click Paste
.
Did this summary help you?
Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 5,263,142 times.
Reader Success Stories
- "My wife has a MAC - I have always used PCs - frustrating when I can't help her, so your article was helpful - logical now that I see how it is done. Control C on the PC for copy, etc. vs. Apple logo + C on the MAC. Thanks." ..." more
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