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About this lesson
Cut, copy and paste is an essential skill to help minimize re-typing text.
Lesson versions
Multiple versions of this lesson are available, choose the appropriate version for you:
Exercise files
Download the ‘before’ and ‘after’ Word documents from the video tutorial and try the lesson yourself.
Basic Cut, Copy, Paste.docx60.4 KB Basic Cut, Copy, Paste - Solution.docx
24.8 KB
Quick reference
Basic Cut, Copy, Paste
An essential computer skill, cut/copy/paste can help to minimize re-typing text.
When to use
Whenever words or paragraphs are repeated, use copy/paste. And whenever they need to be moved, use cut/paste.
Instructions
To Copy and paste:
- Select the word(s) with a click and drag or a double/triple click.
- Choose Copy (3 ways: use the tool on the home ribbon, use right-click “copy”, or use “Ctrl C” on the keyboard.)
- Place the insertion point where you want the copied text to land.
- Choose Paste (3 ways: use the tool on the home ribbon, use right-click “paste”, or use “Ctrl V” on the keyboard.)
To Cut and paste:
- Select the word(s) with a click and drag or a double/triple click.
- Choose Cut (3 ways: use the tool on the home ribbon, use right-click “cut”, or use “Ctrl X” on the keyboard.)
- Place the insertion point where you want the cut text to land.
- Choose Paste (3 ways: use the tool on the home ribbon, use right-click “paste”, or use “Ctrl V” on the keyboard.)
Tip: If using the right mouse button to paste, and you get the 3 tiny clipboards that give you Paste Options, take the time to hover your mouse over those options and preview how your text behaves.
Keep Source Formatting will retain all color, fonts, and alignment that were copied along with the text.
Merge Formatting will blend the two styles together. (This can often be unruly and not the desired results.)
Keep Text Only is a valuable tool if you want the copied text to be cleaned of all formatting.
Login to download- 00:04 Hello, in this lesson, we're going to learn how to Cut, Copy, Paste.
- 00:08 It is the basically the essence of using computers and software.
- 00:11 You have to know this, and
- 00:13 there are also three ways to do it just to make your day a little brighter.
- 00:17 Okay, so first of all, I will go ahead and expand my ribbons so
- 00:20 you can see all the details, and right up here we have a clipboard section.
- 00:25 On that section is a Paste button, a Cut button and a Copy button.
- 00:29 Those are grayed out because I haven't selected anything.
- 00:32 Please keep in mind the computer only works with what you tell it ahead of time,
- 00:37 meaning have you selected anything.
- 00:39 At this point,
- 00:40 I haven't selected anything, I have a flashing insertion point.
- 00:43 That's all, and so we're gonna go ahead and I'm going to click
- 00:47 on the second paragraph, and so now keep your eye up on these two buttons,
- 00:52 the little scissors and the Copy, the Cut and Copy.
- 00:55 Now, when I select the paragraph, one, two,
- 00:57 three, triple-click will select the paragraph.
- 00:59 Look what happens, they lit up, the Cut Copy lit up.
- 01:02 Now there's another way to do this.
- 01:04 If I've already selected the paragraph, now when I right-click, I have Cut,
- 01:08 Copy and a bunch of Paste options right there, and there's one other way.
- 01:14 When I float my mouse on Cut, the Tool Tip down below says Ctrl + X.
- 01:18 When I float on Copy, the Tool Tip says Ctrl + C.
- 01:21 When I float on paste, the Tool Tip says Ctrl + V.
- 01:25 The rationale for those is, if you will find those letters on your keyboard,
- 01:29 the X, the C, and the V.
- 01:31 Look at them on your keyboard, they happen to be just a pinky reach away from
- 01:35 the Control key, and that's why it's so convenient to use those.
- 01:39 It is your personal preference, I will never make you use anything I use,
- 01:43 I just want to let you know there are three ways, and
- 01:45 you will choose which way you like the best.
- 01:47 All right, so let's go ahead and get started.
- 01:49 First of all, in order to quickly see that we are making progress,
- 01:53 we are going to color the paragraph red.
- 01:55 So when I triple click the second paragraph,
- 01:57 one two three, so I have my menu bar right here with a little red A.
- 02:02 So I click on that and now my font is red.
- 02:06 Now When I click off of it, of course I lose my cut copy ability,
- 02:10 so I'll triple click again.
- 02:11 One, two, three.
- 02:12 And now I will go ahead and we're going to copy that.
- 02:15 When I copy that, it's up to you.
- 02:18 You can use the copy button, the Ctrl+C, or you can right-click Right click and
- 02:23 Copy, nothing happens on your screen but it is sitting on a little
- 02:28 imaginary clipboard off to the side and it's confusing cuz people think
- 02:33 we'll nothing happen we'll actually guess it did took a photo Photocopy of it.
- 02:36 I'm gonna scroll down here below the line and I'm going to paste.
- 02:40 Now I have my paste button right here, or I can press Ctrl+V, or
- 02:44 I can right click and I can choose and one of these options here.
- 02:47 Now when you float through your paste options,
- 02:49 now remember, that was on a right click.
- 02:52 paste options.
- 02:52 When you flow through them,
- 02:54 it's actually gonna show you what's gonna happen with the one you choose.
- 02:58 So I have paste, the red one.
- 03:01 Paste and merge the formatting which will turn my formatting black.
- 03:04 Or just paste and text which means no formatting comes at all.
- 03:07 Just plain text.
- 03:08 I'm just gonna use that first one so it stays red.
- 03:11 There we go.
- 03:12 All right, let's do the next one.
- 03:13 We're gonna color the third paragraph.
- 03:14 So, I have one, two, three paragraphs, one, two, three, triple click that one.
- 03:19 Instead of a red I am going to choose a blue font.
- 03:23 Now I'm going to cut this.
- 03:25 Triple click the paragraph, and I can use the scissors, I can use control x,
- 03:31 or I can right click cut.
- 03:32 Cut and click down below all the paragraphs, and now Pasted.
- 03:38 There we go.
- 03:39 So now, when you cut, it actually did leave the screen.
- 03:42 And we paste it, it reappears.
- 03:44 Okay. The last thing I want to do,
- 03:46 I do have instructions right down here.
- 03:48 I want to copy the very first paragraph and
- 03:50 then I don't want to change the color at all.
- 03:54 And I'm going to place it below the third paragraph.
- 03:57 So we're going to end up with two of the very first black paragraphs.
- 04:01 So, 1, 2, 3, we're going to copy that with Ctrl+C or right click or
- 04:05 the buttons up on top and I'm gonna place it below the third paragraph which means,
- 04:09 click, hit Enter and now, paste and there we go.
- 04:13 And if you have to clean up anything you can.
- 04:15 Now, in the exercise file that I use is available with this video,
- 04:20 the very bottom are all the instructions of everything I just did,
- 04:23 it would be awesome for you just to review that And get good at this.
- 04:27 Practice this a couple different times.
- 04:29 You need to be good at cut, copy, pasting in order to be good with software.
- 04:33 Thank you.
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