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macOS Quick Tip: Copy and Paste Text Without Formatting

If you're a Mac user with a Windows PC background, you'll probably know how to use the typical copy and paste commands in macOS. But there's a handy clipboard trick that's worth keeping in mind.



(https://images.macrumors.com/article-new/2025/04/copy-paste-shortcut.jpg)

In Windows, the Copy and Paste key combinations are <strong>Control-C</strong> and <strong>Control-V</strong>, respectively. On the Mac, it's very similar – all you do is use the <strong>Command (⌘)</strong> key instead of Control.



But did you know that you can also paste text without its original formatting? Not knowing that this is possible on a Mac, many users paste text into a plain-format text editor to strip it of any styling before copying and pasting it again to its intended destination. But you don't have to do that.



(https://images.macrumors.com/article-new/2025/04/strip-formatting-shortcut.jpg)

If you'd rather directly paste the copied text elsewhere as purely plain text, use the key combination <strong>Command-Option-Shift-V</strong> and it will be automatically stripped of any formatting.



This is a system-wide shortcut, so you can use it almost anywhere in macOS that accepts text input.
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Source: macOS Quick Tip: Copy and Paste Text Without Formatting (https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/macos-copy-paste-text-without-formatting/)