Copy & Paste Tutorial

Copy and Paste is the process of selecting, copying, and transfering (pasting) text from one location to another. It is a fast and efficent way to transfer code from a text editor like Notepad to a HTML document in your site filemanager. Or copy selected text from a web page or e-mail and save it to a text document for reference later.

A quick review of how it works is, selected and copied text is saved on the "clipboard" in your computer and then pasted (transfered) to a text editor such as Notepad or Word. The copied text will remain on the clipboard until you copy something else or clear the clipboard.

Selecting All the Text:
There are 3 ways to select "all the text" on a page.

1. Click on "Edit" in the toolbar, and choose "Select All"
2. Right click on the page, and choose "Select All" from the menu.
3. Keyboard Shortcut, depress the "Ctrl" key + "A" key.

Select a single word, phrase, sentence, or paragraph.
Place the cursor at the start of the text you wish to select, depress and hold-down the left mouse button. Now drag the cursor in the direction of the text you wish to select. To the right or left for single words or phrases, up or down for sentences and paragraphs. When all the text is selected, release the mouse button.

Selecting Text in a Textbox or Text Editor..
When selecting text in a textarea first place the cursor over the textarea and click once on the left mouse button to activate the cursor. The cursor will now be blinking in the textarea.

Four ways to select all the text in a textarea:
1. Click on "Edit" in the toolbar, and choose "Select All"
2. Right click on the textarea, and choose "Select All" from the menu.
3. Keyboard Shortcut, depress the "Ctrl" key + "A" key.
4. With the cursor blinking at the top of the textarea, hold down the "Shift" key + the "Down" arrow.

Two ways to select a single word, phrase, sentence, or paragraph.

1. Place the cursor at the start of the text you wish to select, depress and hold-down the left mouse button. Now drag the cursor in the direction of the text you wish to select. To the right or left for single words or phrases, up or down for sentences and paragraphs. When all the text is selected, release the mouse button.
2. With the cursor blinking at the start of the text you wish to select, depress the "Shift" key and using the left, right, up, or down arrows select the text you wish to copy.

Copy the Text:
Whether you selected a single word, phrase, sentence, paragraph, or all the text on the page the Copy process is the same. Here are three methods of "Copying" the text.

1. Click on "Edit" in the toolbar, and choose "Copy"
2. Right click, and choose "Copy" from the menu.
3. Keyboard Shortcut, depress the "Ctrl" key + "C" key to Copy.

Paste the Text:
To paste text you have to be in a textarea, ie Notepad, Word, or a text editor. For those new to Copy & Paste, in a textarea the cursor will be blinking when activated.

To Paste the text, place the cursor (and activate) where you wish to place the text. These are the three methods you can use to "Paste" the text.
1. Click on "Edit" in the toolbar, and choose "Paste"
2. Right click on the textarea, and choose "Paste" from the menu.
3. Keyboard Shortcut, depress the "Ctrl" key + "V" key to Paste.

That is all there is to it..!
Take a couple of minutes to learn it, and this little feature can save you a lot of time.
I have placed two textareas on this page if you would like to try it. The first text area can be used for pasting text that you copy from the page. The second textarea contains text so you can select and copy from a textarea. Then paste it in the blank textarea.

You have probably heard the term "Cut, Copy & Paste". To "Cut" text you have to be in a textarea. This feature is used to move a section of text from one spot to another within a document. Or to remove from one document and place in another, or to simply remove it from a document. Here are the three methods to "Cut" text from a document:

1. Select the text using any of the methods explained above.
2. If you wish to paste in another location or document.
   • Click on "Edit" in the toolbar, and choose "Cut"
   • Right click on the textarea, and choose "Cut" from the menu.
   • Keyboard Shortcut, depress the "Ctrl" key + "X" key to Cut.
     
     Now place the cursor and activate it where you wish to "Paste" the text. Use any of the methods shown above to "Paste" the text.
3. If you want to just delete the selected text, use any of the following three options.
   • Click on "Edit" in the toolbar, and choose "Delete"
   • Right click on the textarea, and choose "Delete" from the menu.
   • Keyboard Shortcut, just hit the "Delete" key.