Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. 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: Plain Text Pasting as the Default.

Plain Text Pasting as the Default

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 11, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

When you paste information in a document from the Clipboard, there are generally several different ways that Word can paste it. If you do a Ctrl+C or a Ctrl+X to place information on the Clipboard, you can see the different ways that Word could paste the data by displaying the Paste Special dialog box. (Click the down-arrow under the Paste tool in the Clipboard group of the ribbon, then choose Paste Special.) (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Paste Special dialog box.

Of course, when you press Ctrl+V to paste, Word must choose one of the available pasting methods to use in the actual paste operation. The method chosen by Word depends on the type of data you are pasting.

If you do a lot of pasting of text from other programs, you may want to make the default pasting method Unformatted Text, which means that the text is placed in the document with no formatting whatsoever. (The same as choosing Unformatted Text from the Paste Special dialog box.) There is no way to configure this in Word, but you can use a very, very simple macro to do the pasting for you:

Sub InsertAsPlainText()
    On Error GoTo F
    Selection.PasteSpecial Link:=False, DataType:=wdPasteText, _
      Placement:=wdInLine, DisplayAsIcon:=False
    Exit Sub
F: Beep
End Sub

You can assign this macro to a tool on the Quick Access Toolbar or you can assign it to a keyboard shortcut. In fact, you can assign it to the Ctrl+V shortcut, which means that it replaces the normal pasting behavior of Ctrl+V.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the WordTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (13144) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Plain Text Pasting as the Default.

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. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Basing Headers and Footers on the Previous Section

Word treats the headers and footers in a document independently, based on the section in which they appear. This means ...

Discover More

Confirming File Conversions

Open a file that isn't a Word document and Word will still try to convert it to a Word document. If you want Word to let ...

Discover More

Combining First and Second Numbered Levels on One Paragraph

Want to customize your paragraph numbering in Word? There are a few tricks that can be used to automatically display the ...

Discover More

Discover the Power of Microsoft Office This beginner-friendly guide reveals the expert tips and strategies you need to skyrocket your productivity and use Office 365 like a pro. Mastering software like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint is essential to be more efficient and advance your career. Simple lessons guide you through every step, providing the knowledge you need to get started. Check out Microsoft Office 365 For Beginners today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Added Spaces when Dragging and Dropping Paragraphs

When using Word's editing tools, you may notice some extraneous spaces left where you don't want them. This tip addresses ...

Discover More

Adding an Inverted A

Want to insert an upside-down letter in your text? This tip provides a number of different approaches you can use to get ...

Discover More

Erratic Behavior of Ctrl+PgDn

Have you ever noticed that when you use Ctrl+PgDn or Ctrl+PgUp that Word may give you results you didn't expect. Here's ...

Discover More

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.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is 3 + 2?

2020-09-02 07:08:55

Richard Curtis

Why can't you use the Keep Text Only option from Word > Options > Advanced > Cut, copy & paste?

2020-07-14 21:22:59

Caran

Seems like it would have been simpler to add the button Paste and Keep Text Only to the QAT.

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.