--- title: How to Copy and Paste in Google Docs | Relic description: Copy with Ctrl+C and paste with Ctrl+V (Cmd on a Mac). Plus select all, paste without formatting, making a copy of a whole doc, and the phone app. canonical: https://relic.space/blog/how-to-copy-and-paste-in-google-docs source: https://relic.space/llms.txt --- [Copy and paste, explained](https://relic.space/blog/topics/copy-paste-basics) # How to copy and paste in Google Docs To copy and paste in Google Docs, select the text, press Ctrl+C, click where you want it, and press Ctrl+V. On a Mac, use Cmd+C and Cmd+V. Below are the rest: cut, select all, pasting without formatting, copying a whole doc, the clipboard prompt, and the phone app. [JGJordan Gibbs](https://relic.space/authors/jordan-gibbs) June 29, 2026 6 min readUpdated September 28, 2026 ## 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](https://support.google.com/docs/answer/179738), 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](https://relic.space/blog/how-to-copy-and-paste) 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**](https://support.google.com/docs/answer/49114). 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](https://support.google.com/docs/answer/161768). 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](https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/114662) on its own. We explain why in [what the clipboard actually is](https://relic.space/blog/what-is-the-clipboard). If Google Docs keeps asking to access your clipboard, install the [Google Docs Offline extension](https://support.google.com/docs/answer/6388102) in Chrome. Docs uses it to handle copy and paste through the menus, so the prompt stops appearing. If Chrome does show a prompt asking to see text and images copied to the clipboard, click **Allow**. The keyboard shortcuts work either way. ## 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](https://relic.space/blog/how-to-paste-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](https://relic.space/blog/how-to-copy-formatting-in-word) covers the same idea in Word. Stop losing the thing you copied an hour ago. Google Docs only holds the last thing you copied. Relic remembers everything you copy, keeps it searchable on every device, and encrypts your history so nobody but you can open it. New to the idea? Start with [what end-to-end encryption actually protects](https://relic.space/blog/what-is-end-to-end-encryption). [Download forWindows](https://relic.space/download/windows)[Download formacOS](https://relic.space/download/macos)[Download forLinux](https://relic.space/download/linux)[Download forAndroid](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=relic.space.app&referrer=utm%5Fsource%3Drelic.space%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dwebsite%26utm%5Fcampaign%3Dcontent)[Download foriPhone](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/relic-clipboard-vault/id6800556025) ## Copy and paste in the Google Docs mobile app On a phone or tablet, gestures replace the keyboard. The [steps](https://support.google.com/docs/answer/161768) 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](https://relic.space/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](https://relic.space/blog/how-to-copy-and-paste) 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](https://support.google.com/docs/answer/179738), Google Docs Editors Help * [Copy and paste text and images](https://support.google.com/docs/answer/161768), Google Docs Editors Help * [Create, view, or download a file](https://support.google.com/docs/answer/49114), Google Docs Editors Help * [Change site settings permissions](https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/114662), Google Chrome Help * [Work on Google Docs, Sheets & Slides offline](https://support.google.com/docs/answer/6388102), Google Docs Editors Help JG Written by [Jordan Gibbs](https://relic.space/authors/jordan-gibbs)Founder, Relic Jordan Gibbs is the founder of Relic, an end-to-end encrypted, permanent, searchable memory for everything you copy. He writes widely about AI, agents, and practical tooling on Medium, where he is read by tens of thousands, and builds privacy-first software. Here he covers how everyday tools like the clipboard actually work, and how to use them without handing your data to someone else. [Medium](https://medium.com/@jordan%5Fgibbs)[GitHub](https://github.com/jordan-gibbs)[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan--gibbs/) Part of [Copy and paste, explained](https://relic.space/blog/topics/copy-paste-basics) * [How to copy and paste on any device· pillar](https://relic.space/blog/how-to-copy-and-paste) * [How to copy and paste on an iPad](https://relic.space/blog/how-to-copy-and-paste-on-ipad) * [How to copy formatting in Word](https://relic.space/blog/how-to-copy-formatting-in-word) * [How to copy and paste on a Chromebook](https://relic.space/blog/how-to-copy-and-paste-on-chromebook) * [How to copy and paste on a Mac](https://relic.space/blog/how-to-copy-and-paste-on-mac) * [How to copy and paste on an iPhone](https://relic.space/blog/how-to-copy-and-paste-on-iphone) * [How to copy and paste on Android](https://relic.space/blog/how-to-copy-and-paste-on-android) * [How to paste without formatting](https://relic.space/blog/how-to-paste-without-formatting) Keep reading [Pillar·12 minHow to copy and paste on any deviceThe same two steps work everywhere once you know the shortcut for your device. Copy and paste on Windows, Mac, Chromebook, iPhone, Android and tablets, by keyboard, trackpad or touch, with every shortcut in one table.Read ](https://relic.space/blog/how-to-copy-and-paste)[7 minHow to copy and paste on an iPadThe iPad copies by touch like an iPhone, but it also takes keyboard shortcuts and lets you drag things between two open apps. Every method, plus Procreate and the fixes when paste won't show up.Read ](https://relic.space/blog/how-to-copy-and-paste-on-ipad)[7 minHow to copy formatting in WordCopy the look of text in Word without the words. The Format Painter, single click vs double click, the keyboard shortcut for your version of Word and for Mac, and when styles work better.Read ](https://relic.space/blog/how-to-copy-formatting-in-word) copy and pastehow-toproductivity