How to copy paste on macbook pro

  1. How to copy paste on macbook pro

    1

    Go to the text or item you want to copy. You can copy text in order to paste it into another document or text field, or you can copy one or more files to paste them into another location on your computer.

  2. How to copy paste on macbook pro

    2

    Select the text or item. To select text, click and drag your mouse across it to highlight it. You can select a file by clicking it once.

    • If you want to select multiple files at once, hold down Command while clicking each one.

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  3. How to copy paste on macbook pro

    3

    Click Edit. It's on the left side of the menu bar that's at the top of your Mac's screen. A drop-down menu will appear.

  4. How to copy paste on macbook pro

    4

    Click Copy. You'll see this option in the Edit drop-down menu. Doing so copies any selected text or files to your Mac's clipboard.

    • If you're copying an individual file, you'll see the file's name next to Copy.
    • You won't see the text or files duplicate at this point.

  5. How to copy paste on macbook pro

    5

    Go to the place in which you want to paste the text or item. You can paste text into any text field or document, while files can be pasted into most folders on your computer.

    • If you're pasting text into a text field, make sure you click the text field before proceeding.

  6. How to copy paste on macbook pro

    6

    Click Edit. It's in the menu bar. The drop-down menu will reappear.

  7. How to copy paste on macbook pro

    7

    Click Paste Item. It's in the drop-down menu. You should see your text or file(s) appear in the selected space.

    • You'll click Paste Items if you copied multiple files.
    • If you copied an individual file, you'll click Paste [file name] (e.g., Paste "Screenshot 1") in the drop-down menu.

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  1. How to copy paste on macbook pro

    1

    Open the Apple menu

    How to copy paste on macbook pro

    . Click the Apple logo in the top-left corner of the screen. A drop-down menu will appear.

  2. How to copy paste on macbook pro

    2

    Click System Preferences…. It's in the drop-down menu. This will open the System Preferences window.

  3. How to copy paste on macbook pro

    3

    Click Trackpad. This is at the top of the System Preferences window. A pop-up window will appear.

  4. How to copy paste on macbook pro

    4

    Click the Point & Click tab. It's at the top of the System Preferences window.

  5. How to copy paste on macbook pro

    5

    Check the "Secondary click" box. You'll find this box on the left side of the window. Checking it enables the two-finger click feature for your Mac's trackpad.

    • If this box is checked, secondary click is already enabled.

  6. How to copy paste on macbook pro

    6

    Find the text or item you want to copy. Go to the document or folder in which the content or document you want to copy is located.

  7. How to copy paste on macbook pro

    7

    Select text before copying it. You will need to click and drag your mouse across the text you want to copy before you can copy it.

    • If you want to copy multiple files, hold down Command while clicking each file you want to copy.

  8. How to copy paste on macbook pro

    8

    Two-finger click the selected item. Placing the mouse cursor over a selected item and then pressing the trackpad with two fingers will prompt a drop-down menu.

    • If you've selected multiple files, you only need to two-finger click one of the selected files.

  9. How to copy paste on macbook pro

    9

    Click Copy. It's in the drop-down menu. Doing so will copy the selected item(s) to your Mac's clipboard.

    • You won't see the text or file(s) duplicate at this point.
    • If you're copying an individual file, you'll see the file's name next to Copy.

  10. How to copy paste on macbook pro

    10

    Go to the place in which you want to paste the text or item. You can paste text into any text field or document, while files can be pasted into most folders on your computer.

  11. How to copy paste on macbook pro

    11

    Two-finger click a text field or a blank space. A drop-down menu will appear.

  12. How to copy paste on macbook pro

    12

    Click the Paste option. It's in the drop-down menu. You should see your text or file(s) appear in the selected space.

    • You'll click Paste Items if you copied multiple files.
    • If you copied an individual file, you'll click Paste [file name] (e.g., Paste "Screenshot 1") in the drop-down menu.

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  1. 1

    Select the text or image you want to copy. You can press and hold Shift + an arrow key to select text where your cursor is located or you can right-click an image to select it.

    • You can also click and drag the cursor to highlight the text you want to copy.
    • Using keyboard shortcuts may be an easier way to copy and paste for some MacPro users.

  2. 2

    Press Cmd+C. This keyboard combination will copy the selected text to your clipboard.

  3. 3

    Move your cursor to where you want to paste the copied data. If you press the keyboard shortcut again, the new selection (either text or an image) will replace what you've previously copied to your clipboard. In this case, you want to copy information and paste it before copying something else.

  4. 4

    Press Cmd+V. This keyboard combination will paste what's copied in your clipboard where your cursor is.

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Add New Question

  • Question

    How do I copy and paste without a command?

    How to copy paste on macbook pro

    Highlight the text. Click with two fingers at once, then press Copy. Go to the place you want to insert it. Click with two fingers at once, and press Paste.

  • Question

    How do I switch between applications on my Mac?

    How to copy paste on macbook pro

    If your application is in full screen mode and you don't know how to exit, press the key marked "esc" in the very top left hand corner of your keyboard to exit. If you want to open a new application, drag your mouse down the bottom of the screen, and the "dock" will appear. (This is sometimes on the right hand or left hand side of the screen instead.) The dock contains a selection of applications, but not all of them. The rest are located in the launchpad. Click on the grey rocket icon in the dock to open launchpad.

  • Question

    How do I email a lot of people at once on a mac?

    How to copy paste on macbook pro

    Go to your email, compose your letter, and then add all the people at once to the addressee.

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  • If you have a Mac with a mouse (e.g., an iMac), pressing the right side of the mouse will prompt a drop-down menu with Copy and Paste options.

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  • You can use the "Cut" feature to delete text from a document or text field after copying it to your clipboard. You'll find Cut in the Edit drop-down menu, or you can press Command + X to cut selected text.

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  • Some text won't be viewable in certain contexts. For example, copying a text message with emoji in it from your Mac's Message app and pasting it into a text field on Facebook or similar may result in some of the emoji not showing up.

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  • Copying another item or piece of text before you have a chance to paste the last-copied item or piece of text will overwrite the previously copied information. This can be disastrous if you're copying and pasting sensitive information between documents or folders.

    As a small thank you, we’d like to offer you a $30 gift card (valid at GoNift.com). Use it to try out great new products and services nationwide without paying full price—wine, food delivery, clothing and more. Enjoy!

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About This Article

Article SummaryX

1. Select the text or file(s) you want to copy.
2. Click Edit, then click Copy.
3. Go to the location in which you want to paste the copied item(s).
4. Click Edit, then click Paste.

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Why can't I copy and paste on my Mac?

The most likely reason why copy and paste are not working on your Mac is that your clipboard stopped working and it needs to be reset to get it going again. Sometimes, you may even get error messages saying “pboard quit unexpectedly.” Then you will know that you need to restart pboard to get it working again.