How to Cut and Paste

Last Updated: October 9, 2021

Whether you work on the computer or just use one at home, the ability to cut and paste text and files is a valuable time-saving technique. The terms "cut and paste" come from the now-obsolete practice of manuscript editing by cutting paragraphs from a written page with scissors and pasting them onto another page. The digital version works similarly, but won’t tire out your hands. Follow this guide to cut and paste using the most popular techniques.

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Using Keyboard Shortcuts

1
Press the “Cut” keyboard shortcut. This will remove the original file or text when you paste it in a new location. You can only cut one selection at a time; if you copy something else before pasting, it will overwrite the first copy. The “Cut” shortcut for each operating system is:^{[1]
X
Expert Source

Garnik Ovsepyan
Computer Specialist
Expert Interview. 1 July 2021.}
- Windows and Linux: Ctrl+X^{[2]
  X
  Expert Source
  
  Garnik Ovsepyan
  Computer Specialist
  Expert Interview. 1 July 2021.}
- Mac OS X: ⌘ Command+X^{[3]
  X
  Expert Source
  
  Garnik Ovsepyan
  Computer Specialist
  Expert Interview. 1 July 2021.}
2
Navigate to where you want to paste. If you are pasting text, place the cursor where you want to the text to be pasted. If you are pasting files, open the location of where you want to paste. Make sure that the window you are pasting into has focus.

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3
Press the “Paste” keyboard shortcut. This will paste everything you had previously cut into the location you have active. You can Paste the cut material multiple times. The “Paste” shortcut for each operating system is:^{[4]
X
Expert Source

Garnik Ovsepyan
Computer Specialist
Expert Interview. 1 July 2021.}
- Windows and Linux: Ctrl+V^{[5]
  X
  Expert Source
  
  Garnik Ovsepyan
  Computer Specialist
  Expert Interview. 1 July 2021.}
- Mac OS X: ⌘ Command+V^{[6]
  X
  Expert Source
  
  Garnik Ovsepyan
  Computer Specialist
  Expert Interview. 1 July 2021.}

Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Right-Clicking

1
Right-click on something you have selected. If you are using a one-button mouse with Mac OS X, press Control and click to open the right-click menu.^{[7]
X
Expert Source

Garnik Ovsepyan
Computer Specialist
Expert Interview. 1 July 2021.} If you have multiple files selected, right-click on any of them. If you have a large amount of text selected, right-click on any portion of the highlighted text.
2
Select Cut from the menu. This will cut whatever you have selected, and the original files will be removed when you paste.^{[8]
X
Expert Source

Garnik Ovsepyan
Computer Specialist
Expert Interview. 1 July 2021.} When you cut text, the original text is deleted immediately.
3
Right-click where you want to paste. If you are pasting text, place the cursor where you want to the text to be pasted.^{[9]
X
Expert Source

Garnik Ovsepyan
Computer Specialist
Expert Interview. 1 July 2021.} If you are pasting files, open the location of where you want to paste.
4
Select Paste from the menu. This will paste everything you had previously cut to the location of your cursor when you right-clicked.^{[10]
X
Expert Source

Garnik Ovsepyan
Computer Specialist
Expert Interview. 1 July 2021.} You can Paste the cut material multiple times.^{[11]
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Research source}

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Selecting What You Want to Cut

1
Highlight text. Text is one of the most common objects that gets cut and pasted, and is essential for document editing and other word processing tasks.^{[12]
X
Expert Source

Garnik Ovsepyan
Computer Specialist
Expert Interview. 1 July 2021.} You can click and drag to select specific sections of text, or press Ctrl+A (PC) or ⌘ Cmd+A (Mac) to select all of the text on a document or page.
- You can only cut text from documents that you can edit. This means that you can’t cut from webpages or PDF files, because you can’t remove the text from the original.
2
Select files on your computer. If you want to cut a file on your computer to move around, simply click on it to select it. You can click and drag a selection box around multiple files to select all of them.
- Hold the Ctrl (⌘ Cmd) key and click individual files to select multiple files that aren't located next to each other.
- To select a range of files, click the first one, then hold ⇧ Shift and click the last one. All of the files in between will be selected.
- You cannot cut files from a read-only location, such as a CD/DVD or a protected drive.

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Using Menu Options

1
Click the Edit menu. This may not be available in all programs, or may be found under different menus.^{[13]
X
Expert Source

Garnik Ovsepyan
Computer Specialist
Expert Interview. 1 July 2021.} For example
- In Google Chrome. you have to click the Customize button (three horizontal bars) and then select the Edit section.
- In Microsoft Word 2007 and later, the Cut function is found in the Home tab. You can find it by looking for the Scissors icon in the Clipboard section.
2
Select Cut. The selected items or text will be cut, and the original will be deleted when you paste it. When you cut text, the original text is deleted immediately.
3
Navigate to where you want to paste. If you are pasting text, place the cursor where you want to the text to be pasted.^{[14]
X
Expert Source

Garnik Ovsepyan
Computer Specialist
Expert Interview. 1 July 2021.} If you are pasting files, open the location of where you want to paste. Make sure that the window you are pasting into has focus.
4
Click the Edit menu in the window you are pasting into. Select Paste from the menu. The items or text will be pasted to the location of your cursor, or at the bottom of the window.^{[15]
X
Expert Source

Garnik Ovsepyan
Computer Specialist
Expert Interview. 1 July 2021.}

Community Q&A

Question

How do you cut and paste a multiple-page document for an email?

Community Answer

Press ctrl + a and ctrl + c to copy all of it, and ctrl + v to paste. Or you could send the document over to Dropbox or Google Drive.
Question

How do I cut and paste a website?

TheWikiHowFurry

Community Answer

If you want to copy the whole website, press CTRL+A and then copy it by pressing CTRL+C. Then hit CTRL+V to paste it.
Question

How do I cut and paste on my iPhone?

Community Answer

Press the word and hold your finger there. After a while, the text you wish to copy/cut will be highlighted. Use the sliders at the side to adjust how much you want to be highlighted. Release your finger. There should be a word 'cut,' 'copy,' or scissors icon above. Click it, and it is copied onto your clipboard. To paste, press and hold on a text area, then release your finger. Select the pop up that says 'paste.'

Warnings

Do not cut more than once without pasting. Unlike the copy function that duplicates the selected text or image, the cut function removes it from the document. Although there may be exceptions within a Windows clipboard, in general, cutting more text or another image will erase the previous selection.

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