What is the keyboard shortcut for pasting without formatting in MS Word?

In Microsoft Word 2019, if I want to paste using: Ctrl+Shift+V, that doesn't work, what is the new shortcut?

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8 Answers

There seems to be no direct shortcut for that, but here's something you can do:

Paste text (Ctrl+V) and then press Ctrl for paste options to appear and then press T for pasting the text with "Keep text only" paste option.

The result will be pasted text without formatting.

You can also Ctrl+V then press backspace if a link was pasted and it will undo link formatting.

This works in older versions of MS Word too.

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Or, you can simply set the keyboard shortcut for PasteTextOnly to Ctrl+Shift+V, then it works like before again.

That shortcut is a bit hidden though, so here's the steps how to get there:

• File > Options > Customize Ribbon > Keyboard shortcuts: Customize...
• Under Categories, select All Commands
• Under Commands, look for PasteTextOnly
• Set the keyboard shortcut for PasteTextOnly to Ctrl+Shift+V

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Ctrl+Alt+V does the trick. It opens up Paste Special, then you need to select Unformatted Text to get the desired result.

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Use Alt+H, V, T

It should be faster than Ctrl+Alt+V then select unformatted text

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Method 1:

The first way is a right mouse click and use this paste special option (keep text Only)

Method 2:

You need to assign a shortcut (Ctrl+Shift+V) for this operation

(Note: by default Microsoft Word does not set a shortcut for it so we need to set it by own)

• File > Options > Customize Ribbon > Keyboard shortcuts: Customize.
• on Left Categories List section, click on All Commands
• Under right Commands List, select for PasteTextOnly
• then Set the keyboard shortcut for PasteTextOnly as Ctrl+Shift+V

Method 3:

Permanent/Ms Word Default Setting

You can use this option which will each time paste as plain text by default

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I maintain a free and open-source tool #DevComrade for pasting unformatted text anywhere in Windows by default, not just with MS Word.

DevComrade now monitors Windows Clipboard for text with rich formatting and replaces it with plain text on-the-fly. That can be turned off/on from the system tray icon menu.

Simply use Ctrl+V for pasting plain, unformatted text system-wide. Or, if your currently open application has any other default keyboard shortcut / menu item for pasting, that should work, too.

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@Kira Resari's Word-specific, one-step shortcut is much better than having to learn and execute a sequence of keypresses every time you need to paste unformatted text. But I'm with @noseratio, a general solution for that works throughout Windows is even better. AutoHotkey is great for the purpose, if you need or might use it for other reasons as well.

The code excerpt below shows how I'm currently doing it in AutoHotkey. Note that this script preserves the original content of the Windows clipboard so that you can still paste formatted text if you need it elsewhere or change your mind. My particular shortcut is Ctl+v pressed twice in very quick succession, just because I find it easier to remember than a combo like Ctrl+Shift+V. But if you want a separate shortcut such as Ctrl+Shift+V, follow the shortcut definition line with the portion of the code beginning with beginning on the line after CopyUnformattedFromClipboardand continuing through and including the next Return (delete everything else).

Please consult the AutoHotkey docs for details on how this works. I very likely cribbed the timer routine (that decides whether Ctrl+V twice in quick enough succession) from a generous AutoHotkey expert, but am unable to give them their due credit now.

; hit Ctl+v twice really fast to paste unformatted text
; Ctl+v pressed repeatedly, just with a little more time between presses, still pastes formatted text
; timings here seem about right but you can fiddle with the Sleep and delay settings (currently the latter is 175)
; SEE "MultiPress hotkey function.ahk" for explanation
$^v:: Action := MultiPress("CopyRegularFromClipboard, CopyUnformattedFromClipboard",175)
Return CopyRegularFromClipboard: Send, ^v Return CopyUnformattedFromClipboard: Clip0 = %ClipBoardAll% ClipBoard = %ClipBoard% ; Convert to plain text Send, ^v Sleep 500 ; to make sure the clipboard is emptied I guess? (before transferring the original formatted back text to it) ClipBoard = %Clip0% VarSetCapacity(Clip0, 0) ; Free memory Return
TakeAction: SetTimer, TakeAction, Off if (IsLabel(Action)) Gosub, %Action% Sleep 200 ;Tooltip required to shut off the notification if used Return
MultiPress(actionList = "", delay = 500)
{ Static pressCount := 0 pressCount := ( ((A_PriorHotKey = "") || (A_ThisHotKey = A_PriorHotKey)) && (A_TimeSincePriorHotkey < delay) ) ? (pressCount + 1) : (1) if (actionList = "") ;this option flags to just return count to caller Return pressCount SetTimer, TakeAction, % delay Loop, Parse, actionList, `,, %A_Space% if (A_Index = pressCount) Return A_LoopField Return False
}

You can use a macro

Sub PasteSpecial() Selection.PasteSpecial DataType:=wdPasteText
End Sub

Then assign it to shortcut of your choice.

See here Create a Hotkey to Paste Plain Text in Microsoft Word

Beware, you will overwrite the default PasteFormat by using Ctrl+Shift+V.