How to Copy Text Only Without Formatting in Microsoft Word

Many users often find themselves needing to copy text from a document in Microsoft Word without its formatting. Whether you're preparing a report, structuring a blog post, or simply needing to extract all the text information to another document, you might wonder if it is possible to copy text only without formatting. In this article, we will discuss the best methods to achieve this in both Windows and Mac versions of Microsoft Word.

Understanding the Need for Unformatted Text

Unformatted text is particularly useful in situations where you want to retain only the words and sentences you need, without any stylistic elements such as bold, italic, and underlines. This can be critical when working with documents that contain a lot of stylistic disruptions or clutter.

The Traditional Method: Copy and Paste

The simplest way to copy text without its formatting is to use the traditional clipboard method:

Select the text you want to copy. Right-click and choose “Copy,” or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl C on Windows or Command C on Mac. Open the target document where you want to insert the text. Paste the text using “Paste” from the context menu or the keyboard shortcut Ctrl V on Windows or Command V on Mac.

However, this will typically paste the selected text with the same formatting as the original document.

Using Paste Special: The Better Way

For those who want to ensure that the text is taken out without any formatting, Paste Special is the preferred method:

Select the text you want to copy. Copy the text as mentioned above. Open the target document where you want to insert the text. Right-click in the document and select “Paste Special,” or use the command Paste Special. Choose the Format option you want to apply. Typically, you will select “Unicode Text (UTF-8)” or “Plain Text,” depending on your needs. This will ensure the text is pasted without formatting.

Steps for Windows Users

Windows Users: You can quickly access Paste Special by using the keyboard shortcut Alt E S T Enter to choose “Text Only.”

Steps for Mac Users

Mac Users: The Paste Special option is located under the “Paste and Match Style” menu. Choose “Unformatted Text” or “Literal Text” to ensure that the copied text retains only the text information.

Benefits of Using Plain Text

By using Plain Text or other simple text formats, you achieve several benefits:

Compatibility: Plain text can be opened and edited in virtually any text editor, from Notepad to TextEdit, and many other software applications. Compression: Plain text files are much smaller and take up less storage space, which is beneficial if you're dealing with large volumes of text. Flexibility: You can easily search, edit, and manipulate plain text for various purposes, such as data analysis, automated processing, or manual proofreading.

Challenges and Solutions

While copying text without formatting is straightforward, there are a few challenges retening special characters:

When using plain text, special characters such as smart quotes, curly braces, and engrave quotes may not be preserved. To overcome this, you can use a software tool or plugin that can convert smart characters to their plain text counterparts.

Solutions: Third-party software tools like Unit Converters can be used to convert text to plain text. Additionally, some word processors support a "Convert Word to Plain Text" function, which handles these challenges more elegantly. Alternatively, using the “Read Aloud” feature in Word and then copying the text from the system’s clipboard might be a method to avoid such issues.

Conclusion

Copying text without formatting in Microsoft Word is a simple process, but it requires a bit of extra attention to get the best results. Whether you need to preserve the document’s readability, reduce file size, or process text for various purposes, understanding how to use Paste Special and the options it provides in both Windows and Mac environments can greatly enhance your workflow. By mastering this technique, you can make your text more versatile and functional, no matter the application.