Paste
Paste may refer to any of the following:
1. Paste is an operating system and program action that lets you copy an object or text from one location and place it in another location. For example, you could copy a URL sent to you through chat, e-mail, or an IM (Instant Message) and paste that URL (Uniform Resource Locator) into a web browser to visit the web page.
If the text, image, or other objects have not been correctly copied to the clipboard, it cannot be pasted.
The picture above is an example of how paste can be applied to tape in the real world. Like a pair of scissors, you can cut text, images, files, and other objects, and to paste what you've cut, you can use tape.
What is the keyboard shortcut for paste?
Below lists keyboard shortcuts and keys for pasting in different operating systems. Realize that when you use these shortcuts, the clipboard data is pasted where the text cursor is currently positioned. Nothing will happen if the text cursor is not visible, because there's nowhere to paste.
- PC desktop and laptop = Ctrl+V or Shift+Insert
- Apple desktop and laptop = Command+V
- Google Chromebook = Ctrl+V
On many devices, you can also right-click where you want to paste and select Paste from the right-click menu.
On a Chromebook and other computer programs, use the shortcut Ctrl+Shift+V to paste text as plain text.
Practice copying and pasting
You can practice copying and pasting text on this web page by following the tutorial steps below.
- Highlight all or some text in the first text box below.
- Once the text is highlighted, press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+C or right-click the highlighted text and select copy.
- Click the mouse pointer in the next empty text box or press Tab to advance to the next text box.
- Once the cursor is in the empty box, press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+V or right-click it and select paste.
If the four steps were done correctly, the highlighted text would be copied (duplicated) in the empty text box.
Why is it possible to paste multiple times?
Anything cut or copied moves into the clipboard and until something else is cut or copied. By keeping what's cut or copied in the clipboard, the computer can paste the same thing multiple times or as often as you want.
Why can't I paste?
If you cannot paste text or another object into a program, it could be because of the following reasons.
- The text cursor is not in a location that supports what's attempted to be pasted. For example, you cannot paste anything into a web page unless it's pasted into a text field.
- You mistakenly pressed Ctrl+C instead of Ctrl+V to paste, and because nothing was selected, it overwrote what was in the clipboard with nothing.
2. Linux command, see the paste command page for additional information.
Clipboard, Copy, Ctrl+V, Cut, Insert, Move, Pastebin, Paste special, Software terms, Word processor terms