You copy text from a website or PDF. You paste it into your document. Suddenly the font changes, the color is wrong, the line spacing breaks your layout. This happens because copy includes invisible formatting alongside the words. Pasting without formatting strips the formatting layer and delivers only the text. Here's how to do it in every context you're likely to encounter.

Universal Keyboard Shortcuts

Windows: Ctrl+Shift+V — works in Chrome, Notion, many web apps. Some apps use Ctrl+Alt+V or require a menu option.

Mac: Cmd+Shift+V — works in Chrome, Safari, and many Mac apps. In apps that don't support it: Cmd+Option+Shift+V.

Universal fallback: Paste into Notepad (Windows) or TextEdit in plain-text mode (Mac), then copy and paste again. Notepad strips all formatting; what you re-copy is plain text.

Paste Without Formatting in Google Docs

Three methods in Google Docs:

  1. Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+V (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+V (Mac). A dialog asks you to confirm — click "Paste without formatting."
  2. Menu: Edit → Paste without formatting.
  3. Right-click: Paste without formatting appears in the context menu in most cases.

Paste Without Formatting in Microsoft Word

Word gives you three paste options whenever you paste:

  1. Clipboard icon: After pasting, a small clipboard icon appears — click it and choose "Keep Text Only" (the T icon).
  2. Paste Special: Ctrl+Alt+V → Unformatted Text → OK.
  3. Set as default: File → Options → Advanced → Cut, copy, and paste → change "Pasting from other programs" to "Keep Text Only." This strips formatting automatically on every paste.

Paste Without Formatting in Outlook and Gmail

In Outlook desktop: paste normally, then click the paste icon that appears → "Keep Text Only." Or use Ctrl+Shift+V after updating to recent versions.

In Gmail (web): switch the compose window to Plain Text mode before pasting. Click the three-dot menu at the bottom of the compose window → Plain text mode. Everything you type or paste in this mode is plain text.

When the Shortcut Doesn't Work

Some older apps don't support paste-without-formatting at all. The reliable workaround:

  1. Paste your text into any online text cleaner.
  2. Copy the clean output.
  3. Paste into your target application.

The text cleaner intercepts the rich text from your clipboard, strips the formatting, and gives you plain text to copy back. This works regardless of what application you're pasting into.

Try the Free Tool

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the keyboard shortcut to paste without formatting?

On Windows: Ctrl+Shift+V (in Chrome, Notion, and many web apps) or Ctrl+Alt+V for Paste Special in Microsoft Office. On Mac: Cmd+Shift+V in most apps, or Cmd+Option+Shift+V. The shortcut varies by application — check your app's Edit menu if the standard shortcut doesn't work.

How do I always paste without formatting by default?

In Microsoft Word: File → Options → Advanced → Cut, copy, and paste → set 'Pasting from other programs' to 'Keep Text Only.' In Google Docs there's no default setting, but you can use the keyboard shortcut consistently. For web-based tools, a browser extension like 'Paste as Plain Text' can override every paste globally.

How do I paste without formatting in Notepad?

Notepad is always plain text — it has no formatting support, so everything pasted into it automatically strips rich text formatting. This makes Notepad the oldest and most reliable 'paste without formatting' tool on Windows.

Why does text from a website paste with weird formatting?

Websites define text formatting (font, color, size, line-height) in CSS. When you copy text from a page, your clipboard captures both the text and these style definitions. Pasting into a rich-text editor applies those styles to the destination document. Paste-without-formatting discards the style data and keeps only the text.

How do I strip formatting from a large block of text at once?

Paste the text into an online text cleaner and copy the plain-text output. For recurring tasks, set your word processor's paste default to plain text, or use a browser extension that strips formatting automatically on every paste operation.