Chapter 3 Copy and Paste in Microsoft Word

Techinques for Cutting Text

In this section you'll learn all about cutting text, copying text, and pasting text. Word processors come into their own with Cut, Copy and Paste, and those three operations are the primary reason why the typewriter is now practically a museum piece.

There is a document that goes with this section called CutCopyPaste.docx and can be downloaded by clicking below. It is one of a few documents you need for this course, and all the other files are included in the download as well. However, it is a zip file. If you're not sure how to open zip files then you also need to read the short tutorial below.

Get All The Extra Files Needed For This Course

Once you've saved the file above, open up the document calledCutCopyPaste.docx in Microsoft Word and we'll make a start.

Cutting text

There are a number of ways to cut text, and you'll learn three techniques: using the Word ribbon, using the right click menus, and using the keyboard.

We're now going to chop out the unnecessary bits from the letter you've just opened. The first thing to cut out is the double use of "Dear" in the first line. To cut text, use one of the following techniques:

Technique 1 - Menu Cutting

Highlight the text you want to cut. In the image below, the word "Dear" is highlighted. This is the word we want to cut:

• Make sure the Home tab is selected at the top of Microsoft Word
• From the Home tab, locate the Clipboard panel
• Click the Cut item:

Your highlighted text will disappear:

Technique 2 - Right Click Cutting

Highlight the text you want to cut:

Click on the highlighted text with the right mouse button to get the popup menu below:

Choose "Delete Repeated Word", by clicking it with the left mouse button.

Technique 3 - Keyboard Cutting

• Highlight the word or words you want to cut
• Hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard
• Keep the Ctrl key held down
• Press the letter "X" on your keyboard
• Your highlighted text is cut from your document

And that's all there is to cutting text. Keyboard cutting is often the quickest way, as it means your fingers don't have to leave the keys when you're typing.

Cut and Paste Techniques

In our letter, we've got the two names mixed up! It was Ambulancewoman Henderson writing to Constable Tucker. So it should start "Dear Constable Tucker", and not "Dear Ambulancewoman Henderson". We'll use Cut and Paste techniques to correct the error.

Again, we'll go through three techniques to Cut and Paste.

Technique 1 - Cutting and Pasting with the Menu bar

• Highlight the text you want to cut and paste:

• From the Home tab, locate the Clipboard panel
• Click the Cut item
• Move your cursor to the place where you want to paste your text

• On the Clipboard panel, select the Paste item. You'll see this menu in Word 2007:

• In Word 2010, however, you'll see this rather confusing new menu:

• Click the first of the three items, just above Paste Special, to do a simple paste:

Your text is pasted to the new position:

Technique 2 - Right Click

For this technique, we'll Cut and Paste Constable Tucker to the top. So do the following:

• Highlight the text you want to Cut and Paste
• Click on the highlighted text with the right mouse button
• From the popup menu, click "Cut" (Click with the left mouse button)

• Your highlighted text is cut
• Move your cursor to the place where you want to paste the text
• Click the new place with your right mouse button. You'll see the same menu as above
• From the popup menu, click Paste (Click with your left mouse button)
• The text is pasted to the new position:

Technique 3 - Keyboard

• Highlight the text you want to Cut and Paste
• Hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard
• Press the letter "X" on your keyboard
• The text is cut
• Move the cursor to the place where you want to paste your text
• Hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard
• Press the letter "V" on your keyboard
• The text is pasted to the new position

Copy and Paste Techniques

Notice this line in the letter:

I will not, I repeat, accept them.

We want another "will not" in there, after the word "repeat". So it should read:

I will not, I repeat, will not accept them.

We'll use copy and paste for this.

Technique 1 - Copy and Paste with the Menu

• Highlight the text you want to Copy and Paste. In our case, the words "will not". As in the image below:

• On the Clipboard panel of the Home tab, select the Copy item:

• Move your cursor to the new location

• Click Paste from the Clipboard panel:

Word 2010 users will see this Paste menu. Again, select the first of the three icons:

But your text is copied to the new location:

Technique 2 - Right Click

• Highlight the text you want to Copy and Paste
• Click on the highlighted text with the right mouse button
• From the popup menu, click Copy (Click with the left mouse button)
• Move your cursor to the place where you want to paste your text
• Click the new location with your right mouse button
• From the popup menu, click Paste (Click with the left mouse button)
• Your text is Pasted to the new location

Technique 3 - Keyboard

• Highlight the text you want to cut and paste
• Hold down the CTRL key on your keyboard
• Press the letter "C" on your keyboard
• The text is copied
• Move the cursor to the place where you want to paste your text
• Hold down the CTRL key on your keyboard
• Press the letter "V" on your keyboard
• The text is pasted to the new position

And those are the Cut, Copy and Paste techniques. Practice them with the letter you downloaded for this section. There are some more duplicated words in the letter. Cut them out using the techniques outlined. Re-arrange the letter so that it makes sense. You should NOT have to type anything out.

In the next part, you'll learn all about Clip Art in Microsoft Word.