How to Copy and Paste on a Laptop (2024)

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This article explains how to copy and paste on a laptop using a mouse, touchpad, and keyboard. The instructions apply to all programs on Windows and Mac computers.

What Is the Easiest Way to Copy and Paste?

The easiest way to copy text is using keyboard shortcuts. Use Ctrl+C or Command+C to copy and Ctrl+V or Command+V to paste. For files, folders, images, and other multimedia content right-click and select Copy/Paste.

How to Copy and Paste With the Ctrl/Command Key

Follow these steps to copy and paste text on Windows or Mac:

1. Highlight the content you wish to copy by left-clicking and dragging across the text. You can also hold down a shift key and then use the arrow keys to highlight the text you wish to cut or copy.

   Press Ctrl+A (Windows) or Command+A (Mac) to select all text in the active window.
   

   

2. Press Ctrl+C (on Windows) or Command+C (on Mac) to copy the content to your clipboard.

3. Move the cursor where you want the copied content to appear, then press Ctrl+V (on Windows) or Command+V (on Mac) to paste it.

   To cut text or images, use the shortcut Ctrl+X (Windows) or Command+X (Mac). Cutting deletes the original content while saving it to the clipboard.

   

How Do You Copy and Paste on a Laptop Without Ctrl?

The other option is to highlight the text, right-click the highlighted content, and then select Copy. To paste, right-click where you want the text to go and select Paste.

For folders, files, and images, just right-click the content (no need to highlight) and select Copy. To paste, place the cursor where you want the copied content to appear, then right-click and select Paste.

To copy multiple files in a folder, left-click and drag a selection box around what you want to copy, then right-click on a highlighted item and select Copy. Alternatively, hold down Shift as you make your selection to choose multiple files, then right-click and select Copy.

Copying and pasting can save you a lot of time. If you're making a spreadsheet, you can select one of the cells and use the appropriate keyboard shortcut to copy the contents. Then, you can select another cell and use the shortcut to paste. If you want to use an image in a document, copying and pasting are much faster than waiting for the image to download and inserting it manually.

Why Can't I Copy and Paste on My Laptop?

Not all programs and web pages allow you to copy text or other content. Some apps purposely prevent users from copying anything. Google Chrome has an extension called Enable Copy which enables you to copy on restricted web pages.

On the other hand, some apps may use a different keyboard shortcut, or there may be an option to Copy and Paste in one of the app's menus (look for an Edit tab or a Gear icon).

Other apps have a dedicated Copy button, which may look like two overlapping shapes. A Google search can tell you how to copy and paste in a specific program.