Copy and paste - 30 Oct 2007

The Copy (and Cut) and Paste commands allow you to take information from one location, document, or program to any other location in Windows.

Copying takes data from a source document in a source application and the Paste command places that data into a destination document in a destination application.

The destination copy has no “link” to the original. It is the property of the destination and whether you can edit that copy or not depends on how you pasted.

There are four basic steps:  SELECT → COPY ? GO ? PASTE

1. Select the content you wish to move or copy.
2. Copy. Choose the Copy command. Choose Cut if you wish to move, rather than copy, the object. You can choose these commands by doing one of the following:
   • Right-click the object and choose Copy or Cut.
   • Click the Copy or Cut button.
   • CTRL+C  for Copy or CTRL+X for Cut.
   • Choose Edit ? Copy or Edit ? Cut.
   The content that you copied is now in the Windows clipboard. You now can go to your destination and paste the contents of the clipboard into that document.
3. Go. Navigate to the destination and click where you want the object to appear.

   • Go to the correct program:

     • If the destination is another program that is already open, click the program’s button on the taskbar.
     • If the destination is another program that is not yet opened, open the program.

   • Go to the correct document:

     • If the destination is another document that is already open, choose it from the program’s Window menu.
     • If the destination is another document that is not yet opened, choose File ? Open and open the document.

   • Go to the correct location:

     • Use the scrollbars, if necessary.
     • Click to select the location where you want the content to appear.
4. Paste. Choose the Paste command by doing one of the following:
   • Right-click and choose Paste.
   • Click the Paste button. 
   • CTRL+V
   • Choose Edit ? Paste