Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Office 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: Absolutely Getting Rid of Formatting.
If you are working with a document that is highly formatted, and you are looking for a quick and easy way to get rid of any and all formatting for a selection of text, here is a quick way to do it:
Since the Notepad accessory can only work with unformatted text, all formatting for your text selection is removed. You can then either save your selection as a text file or copy it back to the Clipboard and paste it back into Word.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (7065) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Office 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Absolutely Getting Rid of Formatting.
Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2013. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word 2013 Step by Step today!
When decreasing the vertical spacing of lines in a paragraph, you might end up with a condition where parts of your ...
Discover MoreWhen you allow Word to naturally flow your text through a document, you may find that the text on each page ends at a ...
Discover MoreDo you have just a line or two of text that 'spills over' onto another printed page? Here are some ways you can compress ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2019-05-23 14:05:09
STEVEN BENEFIELD
If you copy and paste, text only, in another Word document, does it also get rid of all formatting?
2019-05-04 21:29:09
George Sutton
One thing which bothers me from time to time in many blogs and posts is the use of the word "Highlight" to describe selecting text or other data. The correct word to use is "Select". Highlight and Select mean two totally different things.
To highlight means to use the highlighter tool and change the background colour of a piece of text. All it does is add colour. You cannot copy, delete or change font when you do this. It is the same as grabbing a highlighter pen and highlighting a passage in a book or other printed medium.
To Select means just that: you select some text so you can perform some action on it like copy, delete, change font and so on.
Cheers to all.
2019-05-04 10:32:48
Erik Eilertsen
I imagine an easier way (for me) would be to open an email and format it for plaintext then paste my copy into it. Then agree to the warning that you will lose all formatting? You now have your text in plaintext and can copy it back to wherever you want it and reformat it as you like
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.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2021 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Office 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: 
Comments