How to Copy and Paste on Mac with Keyboard, Mouse, Edit, etc.

Cassie
Last updated: Jan 2, 2024
Summary: How to copy and paste on Mac/MacBook? This post introduces 5 ways with step-by-step guides. Some tips to help you fix copy and paste not working on Mac are also offered.

You may often need to copy texts, pictures, videos, or other files on your Mac and paste them to another location/device. This post mainly introduces how to copy and paste on Mac by using the keyboard shortcut, mouse, trackpad, Edit menu, or Universal Keyboard. Check the detailed guide below.

how to copy and paste on Mac

How to Copy and Paste on Mac/MacBook – 5 Ways

1. Copy and Paste on Mac with Keyboard

If you want to copy and paste files on your Mac without a mouse, you can use keyboard shortcuts.

Step 1. On your Mac, you can hold the Shift key and use the Up and Down arrow keys to select the text that you want to copy.

Step 2. Press the Command + C keyboard shortcut to copy the text/image to the clipboard. If you want to move the file to another place, you can press Command + X to cut it.

Step 3. Open the target program and press Command + V to paste the copied text/image to the target location.

  • To paste the text without formatting on Mac, you can press the Command + Shift + V keyboard shortcut.
  • To make the copied text match the font, color, size, or other styles of its surround content, you can press Option + Command + Shift + V.
  • To cut and paste files and folders to a new location, you can press Command + Option + V.
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2. Copy and Paste on Mac with Mouse

Step 1. On your Mac, left-click your mouse and drag across the text to select the content that you want to copy.

Step 2. Right-click your mouse and choose the Copy option from the contextual menu. Alternatively, you can press and hold the Control key and click the item to bring the options menu.

If you want to cut and paste the content to another program, you can choose Cut.

Step 3. Open the target application, right-click your mouse, and choose Paste to paste the copied content to the preferred location.

Related: How to Transfer Files Between iPhone and Mac - 4 Ways

3. Copy and Paste Files on Mac/MacBook with Trackpad

Step 1. Press on the trackpad on your Mac and move the cursor to select the content that you want to copy.

Step 2. Tap the trackpad with two fingers to open the contextual menu and select the Copy option.

Step 3. Go to the target application and tap the trackpad with two fingers again. Choose the Paste option from the drop-down menu to paste the copied content.

how to copy and paste on Mac with trackpad

4. Copy and Paste on Mac/MacBook with Edit Menu

Step 1. Select the text that you want to copy. You can click and drag your mouse to highlight it.

Step 2. Click the Edit tab at the top-left on your Mac and select the Copy option.

Step 3. Go to the target place, click the Edit menu again, and select the Paste option to paste the text. To paste the text with the style of the target document, you can click Edit > Paste and Match Style.

how to copy and paste on Mac with Edit

5. Copy and Paste on Mac with Universal Clipboard

Mac contains a Universal Clipboard feature that allows users to easily copy and paste things between Mac and iPhone/iPad. You can copy files from your Mac and paste them into a folder on another Mac or paste them to a nearby iPhone.

Step 1. On your Mac, select the file, text, image, video, etc. that you want to copy. Press Command + C or click Edit > Copy.

Step 2. Go to another device and place the pointer to the target location you want to paste the file. Double-tap on iPhone/iPad and select Paste to copy and paste the selected content.

Tip
You should not wait for too long since the copied content is only available for paste for a short time. Still, your devices should turn on WiFi, Bluetooth, and Handoff and be signed into the same Apple ID.

Related: 10 Tips to Fix AirDrop Not Working on Mac or iPhone/iPad

Fix Copy and Paste Not Working on Mac

If you can’t copy and paste on Mac, you may try the tips below to fix the copy and paste not working issue.

Tip 1. Restart the app. Restart your Mac. Close other unneeded programs on your Mac.

Tip 2. Use another way to try to copy and paste content on Mac. You can try the 5 ways above.

Tip 3. Update your macOS to the latest version.

Tip 4. Restart Clipboard. Click the Spotlight icon on Mac and search for Activity Monitor to open it. Enter “pborad” in the search box. Select pboard from the processes list, click “X” on the toolbar, and select Force Quit to force close the clipboard. Then you can try to copy and paste the content again. In Activity Monitor, you can also force close other apps that might have problems.

Related: View Clipboard History on Mac | Top Mac Clipboard Managers

Tip 5. Change permissions settings for the file/disk. Select the target file/disk and press Command + I. Expand Sharing & Permissions. Change the privilege of the file to Read & Write.

Fix Can’t Copy and Paste to NTFS Drives on Mac

If you connect an external NTFS drive to your Mac computer, you may find that you can’t copy and paste files to the NTFS drive. Mac only supports reading NTFS drives but not copying/writing data to them.

To write to NTFS drives on Mac, you need to use an NTFS for Mac software program.

BuhoNTFS, a free Mac NTFS tool, helps you mount an NTFS hard drive in read and write mode with one click. With it, you can flawlessly write to NTFS drives on Mac.

  1. Download and install BuhoNTFS on your Mac. Open it.
  2. Select the NTFS disk in the sidebar and check the "Allow Read & Write permission" option.
BuhoNTFS

Bottom Line

This post introduces how to copy and paste on Mac/MacBook in 5 ways. You can use the keyboard, mouse, trackpad, or Edit menu to easily copy and paste content on Mac. By using Universal Keyboard, you can copy and paste things between your Mac and iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch. Possible tips to fix copy and paste not working on Mac are also included. Hope it helps.

Cassie

Cassie has been writing about technology for her entire career life - over 10 years. She enjoys diving into how Apple products work and then breaking it down in a way that anyone can understand.