How do you copy and paste in Google Docs?
Select your text, then press Ctrl+C to copy and Ctrl+V to paste, or Cmd+C and Cmd+V on a Mac. Ctrl+X (Cmd+X) cuts the text, which copies it and removes it from where it was. To drop the formatting that came with the text, paste with Ctrl+Shift+V or Cmd+Shift+V. On a phone, tap and hold to select, then tap Copy and Paste. The Edit menu and the right-click menu do the same jobs.
Two things make Docs feel different from a desktop app. It runs inside a browser tab, and it tries hard to keep formatting when you paste. Most copy and paste trouble in Docs comes from one of those two.
What are the copy and paste shortcuts in Google Docs?
The keyboard is the fastest and most reliable way to copy and paste in Google Docs. These are the keys Google lists for Docs, and they work the same on a Windows laptop, a Mac, or a Chromebook. They never trigger a permission prompt.
- Copy: Ctrl+C on Windows and Chromebook, Cmd+C on a Mac.
- Cut: Ctrl+X, or Cmd+X on a Mac.
- Paste: Ctrl+V, or Cmd+V on a Mac.
- Paste without formatting: Ctrl+Shift+V, or Cmd+Shift+V on a Mac. Learn this one first.
- Select all: Ctrl+A, or Cmd+A on a Mac.
To select text first, click where you want to start and drag to the end. You can also double-click a word, or triple-click to grab a whole paragraph. Then copy. If you want the full set across every program, our guide to how to copy and paste on any device lays them all out in one table.
How do you copy everything in a Google Doc?
Click anywhere in the document, press Ctrl+A (Cmd+A on a Mac) to select all of it, then press Ctrl+C. You can paste the whole thing into another doc, an email, or any other app. Headers and footers aren’t part of that selection, so copy those on their own if you need them.
If you want a second copy of the file itself, with its formatting, images and layout intact, don’t copy and paste. Make a copy instead.
How do you make a copy of a Google Doc?
Open the document and click File, then Make a copy. Type a name, choose a folder in your Drive, and click OK. The copy opens as a new document that you own. The same dialog has a Copy comments and suggestions box if you want those to come along.
In the Google Docs app on Android, iPhone or iPad, find the file in your list, tap More (the three dots) next to its name, then tap Make a copy.
If Make a copy is greyed out or missing, the owner has probably turned off copying for people who can only view or comment. Ask them for edit access, or ask them to make the copy for you.
Using the menus and right-click
You can also copy and paste without the keyboard. Select your text, then use the Edit menu at the top of Docs, or right-click the selection. Both show Copy, Cut, Paste, and Paste without formatting.
The catch is that most browsers won’t let web apps like Docs use your clipboard through menus. It’s a security rule. In Chrome, the menu version only works when the Google Docs Offline extension is installed. In other browsers, choosing Paste from the menu brings up a message telling you to use the keyboard shortcut instead. Ctrl+V and Cmd+V work in every browser, because the browser trusts a key you pressed more than a web page asking to read your clipboard on its own. We explain why in what the clipboard actually is.
How do you paste without formatting in Google Docs?
The most common Docs complaint is pasted text that arrives with its source’s fonts, sizes and link styling (why that happens, and every fix, is in our guide to pasting without formatting). In Docs the answer is Ctrl+Shift+V on Windows or a Chromebook, Cmd+Shift+V on a Mac, or Edit, then Paste without formatting from the menu. The text takes on whatever styling surrounds it, and the same shortcut works in Gmail, Sheets, and Slides.
If you want to copy only the look of some text onto other text, use the Paint format roller in the toolbar, or Ctrl+Alt+C and Ctrl+Alt+V (Cmd+Option+C and Cmd+Option+V on a Mac). Our guide to copying formatting in Word covers the same idea in Word.
Copy and paste in the Google Docs mobile app
On a phone or tablet, gestures replace the keyboard. The steps are the same in the Android and iPhone versions of the app. First tap Edit (the pencil button) so you can select text.
- Select: tap and hold on a word until the blue handles appear, then drag the handles to cover the text you want. The pop-up menu usually has Select all too.
- Copy or cut: tap Copy or Cut in the small menu that pops up above the selection.
- Paste: tap and hold where you want the text, then tap Paste. If your version of the app shows Paste without formatting in that menu, use it for clean text.
Your phone also keeps only your latest copy, so anything older survives only if a clipboard manager saved it.
Why is copy and paste not working in Google Docs?
A few problems come up again and again.
The right-click paste does nothing
This is the clipboard permission issue. Use Ctrl+V or Cmd+V instead, or install the Google Docs Offline extension so the menu can reach your clipboard.
Pasted text looks wrong
You did a normal paste and it carried formatting. Undo with Ctrl+Z, then paste again with Ctrl+Shift+V or Cmd+Shift+V to drop the styling.
You can’t copy anything from a shared doc
The owner can stop viewers and commenters from copying, printing and downloading. When that’s on, Copy does nothing and Make a copy is greyed out. Only the owner or an editor can change it.
Nothing copies or pastes at all
If shortcuts have stopped working across the whole browser, the cause is probably outside Docs. Try a different tab or app to confirm, then reload the page. Browser extensions often cause this, so test in a private or incognito window. If it fails everywhere, our checklist in how to copy and paste on any device covers the usual causes.
The short version
- Ctrl+C, Ctrl+X and Ctrl+V (Cmd on a Mac) copy, cut and paste with no permission prompts.
- Ctrl+A selects the whole document.
- Ctrl+Shift+V pastes plain text that matches the document you are in.
- File, then Make a copy duplicates the whole doc.
- On mobile, tap Edit, then tap and hold to select, copy, and paste.
- If the right-click paste asks for clipboard access, the keyboard shortcut skips the prompt entirely.
Sources
- Keyboard shortcuts for Google Docs, Google Docs Editors Help
- Copy and paste text and images, Google Docs Editors Help
- Create, view, or download a file, Google Docs Editors Help
- Change site settings permissions, Google Chrome Help
- Work on Google Docs, Sheets & Slides offline, Google Docs Editors Help