Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Turning Off Paste Options.

Turning Off Paste Options

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 18, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365


Word includes a feature that really annoys some people: Paste Options. When you paste some tidbit of information in your document, Word displays a small, floating "button" right near the end of the pasted information. The button looks like the Paste tool on the toolbar: a small clipboard with a piece of paper over it. This is the Paste Options button. If you move your mouse pointer over the button, you find that it is really a drop-down menu, and clicking on the menu gives you a few options that you can apply to what you just pasted.

If you find the Paste Options button distracting or if you never use it, you may want to turn it off. Follow these steps:

  1. Display the Word Options dialog box. (In Word 2007 click the Office button and then click Word Options. In Word 2010 and later versions display the File tab of the ribbon and then click Options.)
  2. Click Advanced at the left side of the dialog box.
  3. Scroll through the available options until you get to the Cut, Copy, and Paste section. (See Figure 1.)
  4. Figure 1. The advanced options in the Word Options dialog box.

  5. Clear the Show Paste Options Buttons check box.
  6. Click OK.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (6100) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Turning Off Paste Options.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Changing the Format for a Date Inserted Using the Keyboard Shortcut

If you are having difficulties getting Word to insert the date exactly the way you want, it could have to do with how you ...

Discover More

Extracting E-mail Addresses from Hyperlinks

If you have a list of hyperlinked e-mail addresses in a worksheet, you may want to extract the addresses from those ...

Discover More

Typing a Schwa Character in Excel

How you add special characters to Excel can differ from how you add them in other Office programs, such as Word. This tip ...

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2021 or Microsoft 365. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word Step by Step today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Resetting Ribbons to Their Default

Customize Word 2010 enough, and you may at some point want to set the ribbon tabs back to their original condition. ...

Discover More

Changing the Ribbon Font Size

Changing the size at which your document is displayed is easy. What, though, of the elements that make up the Word ...

Discover More

Cannot View Multiple Pages at Once

What do you do when a ribbon tool you rely upon suddenly disappears? That's the situation addressed in this tip, where ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 3 + 3?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.