Microsoft Word is Adding a Paste Text Only Shortcut

Microsoft has introduced this week a new Paste Text Only shortcut in the latest beta versions of Word for Windows and Mac. The new shortcut will allow users to copy text from other sources and paste it into a Word document without any formatting.

While Word users could manually remove the source formatting after pasting text from a website, the option to paste plain text directly should be very welcome. The keyboard shortcut for this Paste Test Only option is Ctrl + Shift + V (Cmd + Shift + V on macOS).

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As you may know, this keyboard shortcut already worked in Microsoft Teams, the Word web app, as well as Gmail. Microsoft acknowledged that the fact it didn’t work in Word for Windows and macOS could mess with users’ muscle memory.

Animation of pasting text only using a shortcut

“The Word team heard about this problem from users, so we’re updating keyboard shortcuts as a direct response to your feedback. Accessibility is a priority for Word, and we want to make the cut, copy, paste experience as seamless as possible,” explained Ali Forelli Product Manager for Microsoft Word.

Currently, this new Paste Text Only shortcut in Word is available for Microsoft 365 Insiders on the Beta channel. The change should roll out to non-Insiders pretty soon.

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