Mrs. Wizard Does Windows
Mrs. Wizard

"Education is
learning what you
didn't even know
you didn't know."
-Daniel J. Boorstin-

 

 

 

Is this site useful?
Let Mrs. Wizard know!

Copy and Paste

You have probably heard the term Copy & Paste or Cut & Paste a lot. This is a "must learn" computer skill that will save you so much time and energy. Once you have mastered Copying and Pasting, you will wonder what you ever did without it. You can use it to Copy a passage of text or a graphic from one application, then you can close that application down, open another completely different application and Paste that information wherever you want. Pictures, text, it doesn't matter. If you can highlight something using a mouse, you can Copy or Cut it. If you can Copy or Cut it, you can Paste it!

The difference between Copy and Cut is no more than leaving the original and making a Copy or choosing Cut to move the original from one location to another.

To do this, select the information you want to cut or copy. This information might be text from a word processing document, email, or anything else you might think of. Place the mouse pointer directly to the left of the first word to copy. Left click once. Then while holding down the left mouse button, drag the mouse to the right (and down if necessary) until the text you want to copy is highlighted. You will know it is highlighted because it will look different from the rest of the text. Let go of the mouse button. You should still see your highlighted text. Move your mouse pointer to the top of your program window and click the word Edit. Then click the word Copy. You won't really "see" anything happen, but your highlighted text will be copied to the Clipboard (your computer's memory), where it will remain until you clear the contents, copy something else, or restart your computer. Because the information remains on the Clipboard, you can paste it as often as you like. This applies to pictures, and in most instances, will work from one software application to another.

DragonOnce you have the information you want stashed on the Clipboard, you can completely close that application down and open anything else you want. When you have another application opened that you want to use this information in, place your mouse pointer where you want the text or graphic to be, then click Edit at the top of the new program window. Click Paste and BINGO!

This is particularly handy when you receive forwarded emails and you want to avoid sending hundreds of addresses and unwanted headers along to your friends. Copy just the text you want to send. Begin a brand new e-mail. Place the addresses you want to send in the To: box. Type in a short subject. Click once in the main message area. Click the word Edit at the top of your main window. Then click the word Paste. You can sometimes cut to the chase by right clicking in your main message area and choosing Paste from there. Always try the right mouse button to see what choices are available.

Large sections of text can sometimes be difficult to highlight. Your mouse pointer can get away from you when you are dragging to the right and down, causing you to end up with more than you really wanted. Use your keyboard to do your highlighting when you need extra control. Click to the immediate left of where you want to begin (you will see a blinking cursor). Then, while holding down the Shift key, use the arrows on your keyboard to highlight to the right (one letter at a time), or down (one line at a time). If you get too much, use the left arrow to back up as much as you need to.

Dragon PasteCopy & Paste and Cut & Paste isn't just for little snippets of text. Use it to easily copy or move files from one location to another. This can be particularly handy after downloading files. Download everything to the Desktop so it will be easy to find. After you are finished installing or viewing your treasure, decide where you want to store it for future use. Right click on any downloaded file and choose Cut. You should notice a change in the appearance of the file on your desktop. Don’t worry about a thing. Proceed immediately to the folder you want to put it in. When you have the destination folder open, right click and choose Paste. The original will be moved from the original location to the new location rather than copied, where the original file remains in the original location.

Use your right mouse button on graphics to choose Copy for pasting in another location. On web pages, right click on graphics and use the option to Copy. Choose where you want to put it, right click and choose Paste. If you can see a blinking cursor, you can paste something. It doesn’t get any easier than that!

Keyboard Commands:
CTRL+C=COPY
CTRL+X=CUT
CTRL+V=PASTE

 

 

 

Home | Latest Goodies | Tips & Tutorials | Software Reviews | Links | Web Design | Disclaimer

Clipping & Pasting

Thank you for visiting us at mrswizard.com
Computer Tricks and Tips for the Rest of Us.