When you copy text from a website, email or another document into Microsoft Word, it often brings its original font, size, colour, links and spacing with it. Reformatting every pasted paragraph wastes time and can make a document inconsistent.
The fastest solution is to paste the content as plain, unformatted text. Word then applies the formatting of the paragraph where you paste it.
Paste without formatting in Microsoft Word
- Copy the text you want to use.
- Place the cursor at the correct position in your Word document.
- Press Ctrl + Alt + V on Windows to open the Paste Special dialog box.
- Select Unformatted Text.
- Choose OK.
The pasted content will adopt the surrounding paragraph’s font and style instead of keeping the formatting from its source.
Another quick option
After a normal paste, Word may display a small paste-options button. Choose Keep Text Only to remove the source formatting. Depending on your Word version and settings, you may also be able to use Ctrl + Shift + V.
When should you keep the original formatting?
Use unformatted text when visual consistency matters more than the source layout. Keep the original formatting only when you intentionally need elements such as a structured table, coloured text or a specific design.
This small habit keeps documents cleaner and saves repeated formatting work. See you soon for another Youpi tip.