How to Copy and Paste Text or Files on a Mac: 4 Simple Ways (2024)

Written byRain Kengly

Last Updated: September 27, 2023Fact Checked

Things You Should Know

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1. 1

   Select the text you want to copy. Click and drag the cursor to highlight the text you want to copy in your document or on a website.^[1]

   • Using keyboard shortcuts may be an easier way to copy and paste for some Mac Pro users.
2. 2

   Press ⌘ Cmd+C. This keyboard combination will copy the selected text to your clipboard.

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3. 3

   Go to the place in which you want to paste the text. You can paste text into any text field or document.

4. 4

   Press ⌘ Cmd+V. This keyboard combination will paste the copied text.

   • To Paste and Match Style, press Shift + Option + Command + V.
     • This can be helpful if you copied text that has a different size or font style and only want to paste the plain text.

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1. 1

   Go to the text you want to copy. You can copy text in order to paste it into another document or text field.

2. 2

   Select the text. To select text, click and drag your mouse across it to highlight it.

3. 3

   Click Edit. It's on the left side of the menu bar that's at the top of your Mac's screen. A drop-down menu will appear.

4. 4

   Click Copy. You'll see this option in the Edit drop-down menu. Doing so copies any selected text to your Mac's clipboard.

5. 5

   Go to the place in which you want to paste the text. You can paste text into any text field or document, such as a Pages file or TextEdit document.

   • If you're pasting text into a text field, make sure you click the text field before proceeding.
6. 6

   Click Edit. It's in the menu bar. The drop-down menu will reappear.

7. 7

   Click Paste. It's in the drop-down menu. You should see your text or file(s) appear in the selected space.

   • If you're pasting formatted text into a document, you can click Paste and Match Style to format the text with the document's style. This can be helpful if you copied text that has a different size or font style and only want to paste the plain text.

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1. 1

   Enable secondary click. You must have this feature enabled in order to use the trackpad to copy and paste. Be sure to update your Mac computer.^[2]

   • Click the Apple logo in the top-left corner of the screen.
   • Click System Preferences… → Trackpad → Point & Click.
   • Check the box next to Secondary click to enable "Click with two fingers".
   • If this box is checked, secondary click is already enabled.
2. 2

   Find the text you want to copy. Go to the document or folder where the content is located.

3. 3

   Select the text. To select text, click and drag your mouse across it to highlight it.

4. 4

   Two-finger click the selected text. Place the mouse cursor over the selected text, and then press the trackpad with two fingers. This will open a drop-down menu.

   • This is how you right click on a Mac.
5. 5

   Click Copy. It's in the drop-down menu. Doing so will copy the selected text to your Mac's clipboard.

6. 6

   Go to the place in which you want to paste the text. You can paste text into any text field or document.

7. 7

   Two-finger click a text field or a blank space. A drop-down menu will appear.

8. 8

   Click Paste. It's in the drop-down menu. You should see your text appear in the selected space.

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1. 1

   Select a file to copy. You can select a file by clicking it once.

   • If you want to select multiple files at once, hold down the Command key while clicking each file.
2. 2

   Click Edit. It's on the left side of the menu bar that's at the top of your Mac's screen. A drop-down menu will appear.

3. 3

   Click Copy. You'll see this option in the Edit drop-down menu. Doing so copies any selected files to your Mac's clipboard.

   • You can also use the keyboard shortcut Command + C.
4. 4

   Go to the place in which you want to paste the file. Files can be pasted into most folders on your computer.

   • Use the Finder to find a specific location.
5. 5

   Click Paste Item. If you copied multiple files, you'll see Paste (number) Items.

   • This will place a copy of the file in the specified location.
   • If you want to move files with copy and paste, hold the Command key while the Edit drop-down menu is open. Paste Items will change to Move Items Here.
     • This will remove the file from the original location and move it to the new location.
     • You can also use the keyboard shortcut Option + Command + V.

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