Computer Tip – Copy and Paste

How many times have you heard someone say “copy and paste”? Well, it really is very easy to copy and paste files, graphics, anything you may wish to copy from the original file, document, design or anything else on your computer or from the net to a new location. The idea behind the process is to take information from one location and deposit it into another.

As an example, you want to save a colour chart for a design you have purchased or downloaded, but the only option is to print the colour chart.

Open your Word processor program, i.e. Word, Notepad, Wordpad, any word processing program you have. Minimize the program to the bottom toolbar.

First, you’ll need to select the text you wish to copy. You do this by putting your mouse cursor at the first character you want to copy and, holding down the left mouse button, drag the cursor to the last character to be copied. As you drag, you’ll notice everything is highlighted, usually in a blue colour, which means it is selected.

After everything is selected, right click the selected area. Choose copy from the menu that pops up (or you can use Control/C, if you prefer keyboard shortcuts).

Maximize the word processing program. Right click the area in your document where you would like to insert the copied text. Click Paste from the menu that pops up (or use the keyboard shortcut Control/V). The text is now pasted in your word processing program.

Simple, isn’t it? These steps are basically the same for any copy and pasting of files, graphics or text.