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To paste copied text without its original formatting, try Ctrl + Shift + V on Windows. On a Mac, the shortcut depends on the app: Google Docs uses Command + Shift + V, while some other apps and browser contexts use Command + Shift + Option + V. If a shortcut does nothing, use the destination app’s Edit menu, context menu, or Paste Special command.
Quick shortcuts by app
| Where you are pasting | Shortcut or command | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Chrome, Edge, or Firefox on Windows | Ctrl + Shift + V | Supported in common browser contexts, but a web app or extension can change the behavior. Microsoft explains the browser shortcut. |
| Google Docs on Windows or ChromeOS | Ctrl + Shift + V | Google labels this “Paste without formatting.” |
| Google Docs on Mac | Command + Shift + V | Google’s shortcut reference lists this for “Paste without formatting.” Google Docs keyboard shortcuts. |
| Some other Mac apps and browser contexts | Command + Shift + Option + V | Often labeled “Paste and Match Style”; it is not a universal Mac shortcut. Chrome’s documentation describes this Mac combination. |
| Word for the web | Windows: Ctrl + Shift + V Mac: Command + Shift + V |
Microsoft documents these in Chrome, Firefox, and Chromium-based Edge. Word for the web copy-and-paste options. |
| Word desktop on Windows | Ctrl + Alt + V, then choose Unformatted Text | Alternatively, press Alt, H, V, T in sequence—not all at once. Microsoft’s shortcut explanation. |
These are app-specific commands, not one guaranteed system-wide shortcut. If yours fails, try the destination app’s Edit menu, right-click menu, or Paste Special.
What plain-text paste changes
When you copy from a webpage or formatted document, the clipboard can hold text alongside fonts, colors, links, paragraph styles, lists, and other rich content. A plain-text paste asks the destination to use the text content without most of that source presentation.
- It usually discards font family, size, color, bold, italics, underlining, highlights, and much of the source HTML or rich-text styling.
- It usually keeps the characters and at least some line breaks, but it does not guarantee clean paragraphs or spacing.
- A link may become visible URL text rather than a clickable link. Images, embedded objects, comments, tables, and list semantics may not come across.
- It does not proofread, fix OCR, remove unwanted hard line breaks, normalize whitespace, or make the result identical across apps. The destination still controls its own paragraph and layout behavior.
Think of “plain text” as a clipboard representation that apps choose to support, not a universal operating-system command. Microsoft describes PowerToys’ plain-text action as replacing clipboard formatting with an unformatted version of the text. Microsoft’s Advanced Paste documentation.
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Paste as plain text on Windows
Try the browser shortcut
- Copy the text with Ctrl + C.
- Click inside the editable destination.
- Press Ctrl + Shift + V.
Chrome, Edge, and Firefox support this shortcut in common contexts, including many browser-based rich-text editors; a particular site can intercept or disable it. Microsoft’s explanation of the shortcut.
Use a menu or text-only intermediary
If the shortcut is unavailable, open the destination’s Edit menu or right-click and look for Paste without formatting, Paste as plain text, or Paste text only. In Word desktop, use Paste Special and select Unformatted Text.
A fallback is to paste into Notepad, copy the text there, then paste it into the destination. This strips rich formatting, but it takes an extra copy-and-paste and can affect line breaks.
Use PowerToys for a configurable workflow
- Install and open Microsoft PowerToys, then enable Advanced Paste in PowerToys Settings.
- Press the documented default Win + Shift + V shortcut to open the Advanced Paste window.
- Choose the plain-text action, or configure a separate direct shortcut to paste as plain text without opening the window.
The direct shortcut is customizable, so there is no single fixed PowerToys shortcut for plain-text paste. Microsoft says its plain-text action runs locally and does not use AI; Advanced Paste also offers optional AI-related features, which have separate configuration and data implications. PowerToys Advanced Paste details.
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Paste as plain text on a Mac
Check the app before choosing a shortcut
In Google Docs, use Command + Shift + V. In some other Mac apps and browser contexts, the command is Command + Shift + Option + V, often named Paste and Match Style. Google’s Docs shortcut reference confirms its own combination; Chrome’s documentation describes the four-key combination for other rich-text contexts. Google Docs shortcuts · Chrome shortcut guidance.
When in doubt, use the active app’s Edit menu. Menu labels such as Paste and Match Style may adapt pasted content to the destination rather than produce strictly unformatted text.
Use TextEdit as a fallback
On a Mac, TextEdit can serve as a text-only intermediary when set to plain-text mode. Paste there, copy the result, and paste it into the target app. As with Notepad on Windows, this is a two-step fallback and may not preserve paragraph breaks exactly as expected.
Google Docs: use its dedicated command
Google Docs calls the operation Paste without formatting. Use Ctrl + Shift + V on Windows or ChromeOS and Command + Shift + V on Mac. Google’s current shortcut reference.
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Docs runs in a browser, so focus, editing permissions, browser choice, extensions, and clipboard restrictions can affect menu-based clipboard actions. Google notes that browser security restrictions may limit clipboard use through menus, making keyboard shortcuts useful. Google Docs copy-and-paste help.
Microsoft Word: web and desktop commands differ
Word for the web
In supported Chrome, Firefox, and Chromium-based Edge configurations, Microsoft documents Ctrl + Shift + V on Windows and Command + Shift + V on Mac for text-only paste. The ribbon, context menu, or post-paste control may also offer a Paste text only option. Microsoft’s Word for the web instructions.
Word desktop on Windows
Press Ctrl + Alt + V, then choose Unformatted Text in the Paste Special dialog. You can also press Alt, then H, V, T in sequence to use the ribbon-key route. Microsoft’s Windows shortcut explanation.
Word’s paste choices are not interchangeable. Keep Text Only or Unformatted Text strips most source styling. Merge Formatting may retain some emphasis or list behavior while adapting other formatting. Use Destination Styles attempts to map pasted material to the document’s style system.
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Plain text, match style, and paste values are different choices
| Paste option | Best for | What may be retained or lost |
|---|---|---|
| Paste as plain text / Paste without formatting / Keep Text Only | Getting a clean text payload without source styling | Usually drops rich formatting; links, list structure, and other objects may be lost or converted. |
| Paste and Match Style / Merge Formatting | Adapting content to the destination while keeping useful structure | May retain limited emphasis, list behavior, or structure; exact behavior depends on the app. |
| Use Destination Styles | Applying the target document’s heading and paragraph system | Maps content into destination styles rather than simply stripping everything. |
| Paste values only | Spreadsheet cells when values matter more than formulas or formatting | A spreadsheet-specific operation; it is not a general-purpose plain-text paste and may discard formulas or formatting. |
Google Sheets has distinct paste operations, including values-only and match-style behavior; do not assume a Docs shortcut or label performs the same action in a spreadsheet. Google Sheets shortcut discussion.
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Keep a clickable link
If the hyperlink matters, paste normally and use the destination’s remove-formatting command selectively, or choose Paste and Match Style if the app provides it. You can also reinsert a link with Ctrl + K or Command + K. If you are cleaning a group of links, keep a separate copy of the original URLs first.
Keep lists, tables, or spreadsheet behavior
Plain text may leave bullet characters or numbers as literal text while removing actual list semantics and indentation. Tables may lose their cell structure. For a formal document, use destination styles or merge formatting when they preserve useful structure, then rebuild headings and lists with the target app’s controls. In spreadsheets, use the appropriate Paste Special option for values, formulas, or formatting rather than treating all content as plain text.
Clean up PDF or OCR text
Plain-text paste cannot fix hard line breaks, repeated spaces, nonbreaking spaces, hyphenation artifacts, OCR errors, unusual Unicode characters, or repeated blank paragraphs. After pasting, search and replace repeated spaces or blank lines, rebuild paragraph and list structure, and proofread extracted text against the original where accuracy matters.
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Troubleshoot when the shortcut fails
Nothing happens
- Click directly in an editable field; a viewing-only document, password box, terminal, spreadsheet cell, or special input may behave differently.
- Try the destination’s Edit or right-click menu and look for a text-only paste command.
- Confirm the document is in edit mode and that the cursor is actually in the target.
- Check whether a browser extension, keyboard utility, or application shortcut has intercepted the keys.
- Use a text-only intermediary if the app has no suitable command.
For Google Docs, browser security restrictions can affect clipboard actions from menus. Google’s clipboard help.
The result still looks wrong
Removing rich formatting does not repair the underlying text. Check for line wraps copied from PDFs, irregular spacing, stray hyphens, smart quotes, or OCR mistakes. Reconstruct paragraph breaks and styles in the destination instead of expecting the paste command to clean the text.
Clipboard privacy and utility trade-offs
Plain-text paste is convenient, but clipboard tools can access copied material. Microsoft documents PowerToys’ plain-text action as local; the broader Advanced Paste tool includes optional AI transformations and external model-provider configuration. If you copy passwords, customer information, confidential documents, or regulated data, review which clipboard history and transformation features are enabled and avoid sending clipboard contents to cloud services unless your requirements permit it. Microsoft’s PowerToys documentation.
For occasional use, built-in shortcuts and text editors are enough. Windows users who want customizable system-level pasting can consider PowerToys. Mac users seeking persistent clipboard history and an always-plain-text preference can review Paste’s documented feature, while weighing clipboard retention and its current terms. Paste’s plain-text instructions.
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