As an experienced Chromebook user, I will guide you through the various methods to cut, copy and paste text on a Chromebook laptop. Whether you are using the keyboard shortcuts, trackpad gestures, or mouse, cutting and pasting text on a Chromebook is quick and easy.
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My Expertise with Chromebooks
I have been using Chromebooks for over 5 years as my primary computing device both for work and personal use. I am very familiar with all the tips, tricks and keyboard shortcuts that allow me to be productive on a Chromebook.
In my work, I often need to write technical documents, copy code snippets, as well as cut and paste information from various sources. The techniques I describe here are what I use daily on my Chromebook.
Keyboard Shortcuts for Cut, Copy and Paste
The fastest way to cut, copy and paste text on a Chromebook is by using the keyboard shortcuts:
- Copy – Ctrl + C
- Cut – Ctrl + X
- Paste – Ctrl + V
To use these shortcuts:
- Select the text you want to copy/cut by clicking and dragging over it with your mouse or using the shift + arrow keys to select text
- Press Ctrl + C to copy or Ctrl + X to cut
- Click where you want to paste the text
- Press Ctrl + V to paste
That’s all there is to it! These keyboard shortcuts allow you to quickly copy and move text around without having to touch the trackpad.
Trackpad Gestures for Cut, Copy and Paste
If you prefer using the trackpad on your Chromebook over a mouse, you can still easily cut, copy and paste text using trackpad gestures:
- Select the text you want to copy/cut by double tapping the trackpad
- Two finger tap the trackpad to bring up the context menu
- Choose Copy or Cut
- Click where you want to paste the text
- Two finger tap and choose Paste
These gestures mimic a right-click on Windows/Mac which brings up the copy/paste menu options. It might take some practice getting used to two-finger tapping but once you have it down, this can be even faster than the keyboard shortcuts!
Using a Mouse for Cut, Copy and Paste
If you have a mouse connected to your Chromebook, you can use the traditional click-based copy/paste methods:
- Select the text you want to copy/cut by clicking and dragging over it with your mouse
- Right click and choose Copy or Cut
- Click where you want to paste the text
- Right click and select Paste
This allows you to leverage the more precise selection of a mouse rather than relying on the Chromebook’s trackpad. While not as fast as the keyboard shortcuts, some users may find this more comfortable.
Pasting Plain Text Without Formatting
When you copy and paste text on a Chromebook, it will also copy over text formatting like bold, italics etc. If you want to paste just the plain text without any formatting, do the following:
- Copy the text as usual
- Click where you want to paste the text
- Press Ctrl + Shift + V – this will paste the text without any formatting
This is useful when you only care about the text and don’t need to retain styling.
Copying Text From Images/Videos
Chromebooks running the latest version of ChromeOS have the ability to copy text directly from images or videos:
- Right click on the image/video containing text
- Choose “Copy text from image/video”
- The text will be extracted and copied to your clipboard
- Paste the text as needed with Ctrl + V
This uses Google’s machine learning models to detect text and works surprisingly well on screenshots, memes and other images with overlayed text.
Conclusion
As you can see, cutting, copying and pasting text on a Chromebook is very straightforward once you know the various methods. Over time, using the keyboard shortcuts will become second nature allowing you to quickly manipulate text.
I highly recommend getting a USB mouse to pair with your Chromebook to unlock the traditional copy/paste workflows. Additionally, learn the trackpad gestures to access the copy/paste menus when a mouse is not available.
With a bit of practice, you’ll be cutting, copying and pasting text on your Chromebook as efficiently as on any other laptop. Let me know in the comments if you have any other questions!
