Mastering the art of copying, cutting and pasting can significantly increase your productivity. If you’re new to Mac, need a refresher or are looking for a different way to perform these actions, you’re in the right place. We’ll break down how to copy and paste on Mac so you can breeze through your tasks with ease.

From the basics to advanced tricks, we’ll equip you with the knowledge and skills needed to effortlessly duplicate and transfer content across applications, documents and browsers.

Article Roadmap

• Steps To Cut, Copy And Paste
• Challenges
• Tips
• How To Copy and Paste Between Apple Devices
• Additional Apple Guides
• FAQs
• Wrapping Up

For quick reference, here are the keyboard shortcuts you’ll need to copy, cut and paste on your Mac:

• Cut: Command (⌘) + X
• Copy: Command (⌘) + C
• Paste: Command (⌘) + V

Steps To Cut, Copy And Paste

Copy With Your Mouse

There are a few ways you can copy content to your clipboard so you can paste it somewhere else later — and they’re all straightforward.

Step 1: Identify the location of your file/folder and determine where you want to create a duplicate.
Step 2: Highlight the text or select the image or file you want to copy with your cursor.
Step 3: Right-click (control-click) on the highlighted content and choose Copy from the pop-up menu.
Step 4: Right-click on the file/folder where you want to paste the file. For text, move your cursor to the desired pasting location.
Step 5: Select Paste from the menu, and a duplicate copy will appear.

Copy With The Keyboard Shortcut

Step 1: Select the item you want to copy.
Step 2: Hold down the Command key (⌘) and simultaneously tap C.
Step 3: Go to the location where you want to paste it, hold down the Command key (⌘) and tap V.

Copy With The Menu Option

Step 1: Select the item you want to copy.
Step 2: Select Copy from the Edit menu in the menu bar.
Step 3: Go to the location where you want to paste it and select Paste from the Edit menu.

Cut With Your Mouse

The process for cutting content is nearly identical to copying, just with some minor changes. Follow the steps below:

Step 1: Find the location of your file/folder and identify where you want to move it.

Step 2: Highlight the text or select the image or file you want to cut with your cursor.

Step 3: Right-click (control-click) on the highlighted content and choose Cut from the pop-up menu.

Step 4: Right-click on the file/folder where you want to paste the file. For text, move your cursor to the pasting location.

Step 5: Select Paste from the menu.

Cut With The Keyboard Shortcut

Step 1: Select the item you want to cut.

Step 2: Hold down the Command key (⌘) and simultaneously tap X.

Step 3: Go to the location where you want to paste it, hold down the Command key (⌘) and tap V.

Cut With The Menu Option

Step 1: Select the item you want to cut.

Step 2: Select Cut from the Edit menu in the menu bar.

Step 3: Go to the location where you want to paste it and select Paste from the Edit menu.

Now that you’ve either copied or cut your desired content and pasted it elsewhere, let’s understand how to paste and match style.

Paste and Match Style

You have the option to match the surrounding style — such as font, color and size — when pasting text. To do so, use one of the following options:

• Press Option + Shift + Command () + V on your keyboard
or,
• Select Paste and Match Style from the menu bar’s Edit menu.

Challenges

You may be unable to copy (or cut) and paste in some instances. All apps have their own rules for copying, cutting and pasting, such as what you’re able to copy and where you can paste it.

You can tell if the actions are unavailable if they’re dimmed in the edit menu or pop-up menu when you right-click.

Tips

• Taking a screenshot will automatically save the image to your clipboard. You can follow any of the pasting options above to paste the image elsewhere.
• If you’re using a non-Mac keyboard, you won’t have the Command (⌘) key. Instead, use the Ctrl key.
• If you’re using the trackpad rather than a mouse, click with two fingers to right-click (control-click).

How To Copy and Paste Between Your Apple Devices

One final tip: You can now effortlessly copy and paste items across your Apple devices, including Mac computers, iPhones and iPads. This feature became available with the launch of the Universal Clipboard in macOS Sierra in 2016.

To use this feature, you can:

Step 1: Sign into the same iCloud account on both devices and turn on your Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

Step 2: For Mac, go to System Settings > General > AirDrop & Handoff. (System preferences for older devices).

Step 3: For iPhone, go to Settings > General > AirDrop & Handoff.

Step 4: Allow Handoff for both devices.

Step 5: Highlight the item you want to copy and hit Command + C for Mac or tap on the copy option on iPhone.

Step 6: Open the app where you want to paste it and hit Command + V for Mac. Or tap on the screen and select the paste option for iPhone/iPad.

[Note: You can expect a delay of 4-5 seconds for copying and pasting text and about 10 seconds delay for images or videos.]

Here are the Apple device models that support this feature:

• 2012 MacBook Pro or newer
• 2012 MacBook Air or newer
• 2012 Mac Mini or newer
• 2012 iMac or newer
• 2013 MacBook Pro or newer
• 2015 MacBook or newer
• iPhone 5 or newer
• iPad Pro
• 4th gen iPad or newer
• iPad Air
• iPad Mini 2 or newer
• 6th gen iPod touch.

Additional Apple Guides

Check out some of our other helpful guides to get the most out of your Apple products:

• How To Force Quit on Mac
• How To Cancel Apple TV+
• How To Back Up Your iPhone
• How To Clear Cache on iPhone
• How To Change Your iPhone Name
• How To Unlock Your iPhone
• How To Scan on iPhone
• How To Connect Airpods

FAQs

Wrapping Up

Now you know how to copy and paste on Mac, including matching the style of surrounding text while pasting.

Do you use a different method for copying and pasting? If yes, what is it? Let us know in the comments below!