Paste Special in Microsoft Word

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Once I got out of automated mode, I woke up and realized that I often use Paste Special with unformatted text when working in MS Word. It became a habit like CTRL+V, CTRL+X, and CTRL+C. To do Paste Special without formatting, I clicked CTRL+V to paste, selected the Paste Special icon  (smart tag) and selected Keep Text Only. Another way to do a Paste Special is to click Edit, Paste Special and select your preference.

Why do all that when I can create a macro and put a button on the toolbar? That’s exactly what I did. It took a few days to get the hang of using the button instead of going the old-fashioned route. I can’t remember where I found the tip and searching for it didn’t jog my memory.

A Microsoft article shows part of the way. The difference is that it changes CTRL+V to paste unformatted text. There are occasions when I do want it to paste formatted text, so I don’t want to change CTRL+V. The button works great. I had thought about making another keyboard shortcut, but I didn’t want to risk erasing another shortcut in the process.

If you prefer to create a keyboard shortcut, here are the Windows keyboard shortcuts. However, these don’t consider the shortcuts that come with specific programs like SnagIt. I use CTRL+SHIRT+P to snag an image.
Here are the steps from the Microsoft article with some minor changes:

  1. Start Word.
  2. Click ALT+F8.
  3. In the Macro name box, type PasteUnformattedText.
  4. Make sure that All active templates and documents is displayed in the Macros in list, and then click Create. The Microsoft Visual Basic Editor appears.
  5. Directly above the End Sub statement in the Sub PasteUnformattedText()section, type (or copy and paste) the following line of code:Selection.PasteSpecial DataType:=wdPasteText
  6. Click ALT+Q to return to Word.

The next steps add a button to the toolbar.

  1. Right-click the toolbar and select Customize.
  2. Ensure the Commands tab is selected.
  3. Select Macros and locate Normal.NewMacros.PasteUnformated.Text (part of it might be cut off).
  4. Click and hold Normal.NewMacros.PasteUnformatedText and drag it to where you want it in the toolbar.
  5. Right-click Normal.NewMacros.PasteUnformatedText (if nothing happens, click the Customize window and right-click again — keep the Customize window open).
  6. Change Name to whatever you want, so you can shorten it.

You can use an image instead, if you prefer. In this case, while the Customize window is still open:

  1. Right-click the new button you created, select Change Button Image, and pick an icon.
  2. Right-click the button again and select Default Style. Only an image appears. You can leave it as image and text, if you prefer.

You might want to do a Save All after finishing this. See Microsoft Word Macros Don’t Stick for an explanation and how to do it.

20 thoughts on “Paste Special in Microsoft Word”

  2. This is great thanks, any one able to find any button images for edit paste special on the change button menu I couldn’t find anything suitable.

  5. Attention!

    The fact that it takes all that work to make MS Word paste plain text is a living monument to the stupidity of MS Programers.

    Do you all reaslize just how complex these instructions are? And how you really couldn’t figure this out for yourself?!

    MS Word is hard to use, and after 10 tries the programmers are making it harder and not easier to use.

    Office should not be a monopoly.

    Why couldn’t I just ask Mr. Paperclip to help me past plain text … oh, yeah?

  6. Does anyone know how to change the “right-click paste” menu in Word so that when you choose Paste, it will automatically paste in unformatted text only? I don’t want to give my users the ability to paste text in formatted from the right click menu in Word 2003. Thanks, any help is appreciated!

  7. You have no idea how much easier you just made my life. Thank you so much for the easy, clear instructions!

  8. I’ve been using a button in Word for many versions, including 2007, but how is it done with a button/macro in Outlook 2007? The macro (VB) code isn’t the same!

  9. This doesn’t work with 2007. Instead, you’ll need to add a shortcut for Paste into the quickbar and use that. It’s not as fast or elegant as this situation, but it’s the next best thing I’ve found so far. Anyone have a better solution for 2007?

  10. Cool simple macro, but it won’t work when trying to replace selected text. With one small modification, it works better. Call ‘Selection.Delete’ before the paste function, like this:
    Sub PasteUnformattedText()
    Selection.Delete
    Selection.PasteSpecial DataType:=wdPasteText
    End Sub

  11. Ooops. Don’t use the previous entry suggestion. Use this instead.
    Sub PasteUnformattedText()
    If Selection.StartIsActive Then
    Selection.Delete
    End If
    Selection.PasteSpecial DataType:=wdPasteText
    End Sub

  14. In response to Katy, asking about an appropriate button: In Word 2003, the right-click drop-down menu (that you see when toolbar customization is active) has options to copy, paste, and edit button images. The editor is an error-prone, one-pixel-at-a-time editor, but it’s usable. I used it to copy the ordinary Paste button and put a giant, red letter “U” for “Unformatted” over it.

  15. Brilliant! Thanks. Saves me a few keystrokes and maybe 30 minutes over my entire lifetime. LOL. Kidding. Seriously, thanks. This is going to help me a lot.

  17. In Word 2007, you don’t have to create the macro. You can change the settings so that every time you use Ctrl+V, it pastes text only.
    Click big button > Word Options > Advanced > (under Cut, copy, and paste) change “Pasting from other programs” to “Keep text only.”

  18. would any one like to help me please? i wana to know that how can and why should we use paste special in microsoft word???????

  19. HELP! I have the opposite problem: my MSWORD does not copy paste formatted text any more!!!
    My BIG problem is that my footnotes disappear when I cut and paste. The pasted text loses also other formatting.
    I am writing scientific aricles and now a book using MSWORD 2003.
    In the past, when I copy pasted a paragraph, the footnotes of the paragraph moved with the paragraph.
    For a mysterious reason the footnotes disappear now (the culprit is not the view I am in, I checked that). Moreover, when i highlight the paragraph I can drag it to another place and the footnotes come with it. This is OK for a short article, but dragging paragraphs 20 pages is a problem.
    I think some setting of the options/edit/cut and paste went wrong. So I unchecked smart cut and paste. No result. Then I changed the settings in cut and paste, but when I do that they always return to their default, even the custom option.
    When I hover my cursor over an item on the clipboard until I see the little arrow, I only see two choices. Paste and delete.No choice to do it formatted or unformatted.
    When I click edit/paste special I only can choose between unformatted and unformated unicode text. There is no choice for fully formatted and there is nothing I can change in that window.
    I did a repair of MSOffice: no result.
    There is nothing wrong with the textfile, because when I open the text in another computer there is no problem and copy paste just works fine..
    The only difference I can find between the two is that in paste special the other computer has many options and on the dysfunctoning one only two, but I cannot add anything.

  20. Unbelievable but true: a Skype extension messes up the copy-paste function in MS WOrd!!!
    If your copy-paste loses its formatting: disable the Skype Click to Call extension in firefox or close firefox.
    If you are a heavy MSWord user, never install Skype Click to Call.
    It is a flabbergasting bug, and more people struggle with it. see: https://support.mozilla.org/nl/questions/923861#answer-324711
    Moreover, nowhere on the Skype site is there a place to report bugs.

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