How To Copy And Paste On A Mac

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably only been using an Apple Mac for a short time. Maybe even just a few hours. If you’re using macOS for the first time, especially if you’re coming from Windows, it can be a bit chaotic at first, as you feel a bit disoriented and even the simplest actions under macOS seem complicated. But everything is simpler and more intuitive than it seems.

One of the biggest problems you may have encountered is copying and pasting text. On a Mac keyboard, the keys are a little different and, unfortunately, the commands are a little different, too. Because of this, you need to go through a customization process that can be very simple. In this article, we will explain how to perform this copy and paste action in a simple way.

We’re going to show you 2 easy ways to copy and paste on a Mac:

Using a mouse or trackpad

Highlight the text or graphic using your mouse or trackpad. Then right click from the pop up menu, click copy, use the cursor to choose where you want the text pasted, then right click again, click paste from the pop up menu.

Using shortcut keys

To copy and paste using shortcut keys on a Mac, first highlight the desired text, press and hold the command key and then the letter C to copy the text. Click where you want the text to be pasted, then click and hold the command key and press the V key to paste.

Copy and paste to match formatting

If you want your text to match other texts that already exist in the space you are pasting, press and hold command and shift and then press V.