If you haven’t already come across these three features in many modern document and text editors, they’re here to help you work smarter when using the trusty copy and paste function.
If you have ever had to collaborate on a document with people using different document editors or pulling information from other sources, you’re probably familiar with the problem of formatting. The old CTRL+C and CTRL+V keyboard shortcuts are two of the most well known ways to simplify copying and pasting, but there's more to the story. Here are three tips for making your copy and pasting more efficient.
1) Get rid of formatting pasted from another document
One of the handiest tools that you will find in most office products and a number of online text editors is the format eraser. This tool will clear all the formatting (e.g. font, bold, italics) from the content you have highlighted, leaving the plain text.
To use it, simply highlight the text you want to change and hit the button. For MicrosoftOffice 2013 users, you will generally find it in the ‘Home’ tab in the ‘Font’ group. In Excel, it’s in the ‘editing’ group of icons.
2) Paint your formatting from another part of the document
Still not satisfied or want the content to match a different part of your document? You can apply the formatting from one part to another using the ‘Format Painter’ tool.
To use this tool, highlight the text that is formatted the way you want, then click the Format Painter icon (or CTRL+SHIFT+C in Office 2013). Next, highlight the text that you want to change the format of. The text will automatically change to match the formatting of your document (if you used the keyboard shortcut, you will have to use CTRL+SHIFT+V).
In Microsoft Word 2013, if you want to paint multiple sections, double click the Format Painter and highlight the sections you want changed.
3) Paste only what you want
If you’re a serial CTRL+C presser, hold on before pressing CTRL+V. You may be better off right-clicking. There are often a number of additional ‘paste’ options available when you have content copied to your clipboard.
Some of the options may include pasting content with the original formatting, merging the formatting of the content you’ve copied with its new destination, or removing the formatting altogether and just pasting the text.
The option to merge formatting can be helpful, especially if you are actively using formatting styles (e.g. Heading 1, Heading 2).
There you go, three simple ways to change your copy and pasting habits. If you have any tips on working smarter with Microsoft Office products, leave a comment and let us know.
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