Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, and 2013. 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: Extra Space after Quotation Mark when Pasting.
Richard cuts and pastes quotations quite a bit. If he types a quotation mark and then pastes text right after the quotation mark, Word automatically puts a space between the quotation mark and the text he's pasting. Richard then has to go back and delete the added space. He wonders how he can stop this behavior in Word.
Actually, the behavior is "by design" in Word. It is part of what Microsoft refers to as "smart cut and paste." It means that Word tries to figure out whether it should add or subtract a space from things you are cutting or pasting. This can, for some people and some purposes, cause confusing results.
You can turn off smart cut and paste (and thereby stop Word from adding the unwanted space after the quotation mark) by following these steps:
Figure 1. The advanced options of the Word Options dialog box.
If you prefer, you could leave the check box selected (in step 4) and simply modify what things smart cut and paste does for you. You do that by clicking on the Settings button at the right of the option.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (8759) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, and 2013. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Extra Space after Quotation Mark when Pasting.
Do More in Less Time! Are you ready to harness the full power of Word 2013 to create professional documents? In this comprehensive guide you'll learn the skills and techniques for efficiently building the documents you need for your professional and your personal life. Check out Word 2013 In Depth today!
Need to quickly count a group of items in a document? Here's a drop-dead easy way to get that count.
Discover MoreWant to modify the way your text flows between pages in a document? Word allows you to insert several types of breaks ...
Discover MoreDo you want Word to always capitalize the first letter appearing after a colon? The program won't do it by default, but ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2016-07-01 14:14:56
GFRyno
Thanks ... I have been looking for some time to eliminate this very annoying feature.
2016-05-20 18:01:18
SFBranden
The "smart style behavior" setting is the one that you need to uncheck to stop this insane practice.
2016-04-28 05:46:33
Chris
Thank you. This has been driving me mad since I had 2013 installed. Every time I pasted something Word would insert a space in a different font type and size(?!?) next to a space that was already there. Today I got annoyed enough to look how to stop it. :-)
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 © 2019 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, and 2013. 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