Ask Juan - Question and Answer
Cut and Paste Plain Text
Question:
I use Office 2003, and whenever I copy and paste into Word, I get formatting and color from the source (say a web page) as well as the text. It's very rare that I want anything other than just the plain text, so I usually paste in Notepad, then copy from there into my Word document; a two-step process. Is there a way to "turn off" the format, either in Word or the clipboard, and better yet, to make this the default condition?
Answer:
I too had been pondering this same issue. After my thorough and careful research, I came across several solutions to this question. Let me expose the solution that meets your requirements.
(Word 2002 users follow the same steps. Word 2000 uses a different method, and it is also explained immediately following the explanation.) Word 2003, has a tool for stripping the formatting from a cut and paste action that leaves only the text. But, it must be activated before using it.
Here's how to do it: click on Tools, then Options. In the options window, find and click on the tab labeled Edit. Once here, find the "Cut and paste options" and make sure the "Show Paste Options buttons" is checked. From now on, every time you copy content from another application and you paste it into a Word document, you will see an icon that looks like a clipboard.
If you click on it, you will see choices of how you can paste the content. At this point all you need to do is pick "Keep Text Only." As for Word 2000, there is no "Show Paste Options buttons" option. But there is a way to paste text without the formatting. (I suppose the other versions also have this method.)
Once you've copied your formatted text from the other source (whichever that may be) place your cursor where you want the "plain" text. Then click on Edit. From the drop down menu click on Paste Special? If you don't see Paste Special from the drop down menu, keep your cursor on the word Edit for a couple of seconds and the drop down menu will expand.
Another way to expand the menu is to click on the vertical ">>" chevrons. Once you click on the Paste Special menu item. A pop-up menu will appear with the choices necessary. For plain text "Unformatted text" and "Unformatted Unicode text" will do the same thing (Unless you are copying a foreign language.)