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up vote 34 down vote favorite
6

I used to often find myself coping a piece of code from a website/Word document etc only to discover that when doing Paste I would end up with the desired code plus some extra html tags/text, basically extra formatting information.

To get rid of that extra ballast I would paste the text to the Notepad and then copy it again and then paste to the desired destination.

Pretty recently I discovered a simple and free tool for Windows called PureText that allows me to cut the Notepad step. It basically adds an extra keyboard shortcut e.g WinKey + V that will do the Paste action without formatting; just pure text. I find it very handy.

I was wondering what approach would you use yourselves? Are they any better/easier to use tools around?

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closed as not constructive by Bobrovsky, EdChum, Stephan, madd0, jcubic Mar 22 '13 at 9:39

As it currently stands, this question is not a good fit for our Q&A format. We expect answers to be supported by facts, references, or expertise, but this question will likely solicit debate, arguments, polling, or extended discussion. If you feel that this question can be improved and possibly reopened, visit the help center for guidance.If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.
1  
I love PureText - it's what I use and I had no problem getting used to it. –  Jason Bunting Sep 23 '08 at 17:32

13 Answers 13

up vote 46 down vote accepted

Just to summarize the available options:

Tools

Browsers

  • To copy plain text from a browser: CopyPlainText - Firefox extension (suggested by cori)
  • To paste without formatting to a browser (Firefox/Chrome at least): CTRL+SHIFT+V on Windows/Linux, see below for Mac OS X.

Other

  • Under Mac OS X, you can Shift-Option-Cmd + V (to paste) without formatting or with the "current" format (by Martin)
  • Paste to Notepad (or other text editor), and then copy from Notepad and paste again

Please feel free to edit/add new items

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5  
+1 for CTRL+SHIFT+V Thanks!! :D –  Sterex May 21 '12 at 17:22
1  
@Sterex that should also work on Mac, too. –  NoBugs Dec 12 '13 at 2:17
4  
If you are using Firefox with its Adblock Plus add-on then you might notice CTRL+SHIFT+V does not paste as plain text but it opens up a "Blockable items on current page" dialog at the lower bottom of the page. To fix this type about:config in the address bar and change the value of extensions.adblockplus.sidebar_key to Accel Shift U and restart Firefox. –  Krige Mar 20 at 16:35
    
On OSX you only need cmd-shift-v –  matt burns Jul 23 at 8:42
up vote 27 down vote

Just for reference, under Mac OS X, you can use ⌘ Command+⇧ Shift+⇧ Shift+V to paste without formatting or with the "current" format.

Note: in some apps it's ⌘ Command+⇧ Shift+⌥ Alt+V (see "Edit" Menu → "Paste and Match Style")

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quad-bucky-cokebottle... –  Johan Sep 25 '08 at 11:44
1  
does not work inside Google Docs –  gdelfino Mar 15 '12 at 17:28
    
@gdelfino: works for me, both in Chrome and Firefox. –  Nickolay Apr 7 '12 at 8:18
    
does not work in for instance the Mail.app, which is where I need it the most. I usually resort to pasting into the subject field, and then copying the result... –  oligofren Jun 18 '13 at 9:25
    
It does work for me in Mail.app. –  Martín Marconcini Jun 18 '13 at 22:27
up vote 15 down vote

I'm a big fan of Autohotkey. I defined a 'paste plain text' macro that works in any application. It runs when I press Ctrl+Shift+V and pastes a plain version of whatever is on the clipboard. The nice thing about Autohotkey: you can code things to work the way you want them to work across all applications.

^+v::
    ; Convert any copied files, HTML, or other formatted text to plain text
    Clipboard = %Clipboard%

    ; Paste by pressing Ctrl+V
    SendInput, ^v
return
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Wow thanks for the tip –  Raheel May 1 '13 at 9:47
    
Been a fan of AHK for yeeeaaarrrsss... even botted a few games way back in the day with it! –  MBillau Oct 24 '13 at 19:33
    
this is f*cking useful :)))) –  Murat Karakuş Sep 8 at 15:29
up vote 9 down vote

From websites, using Firefox, I use the CopyPlainText extension.

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Very handy extension - if it could be bowled together with AutoCopy (and made to work in FF3!) it'd be great. –  ConroyP Sep 23 '08 at 17:28
    
Thank you cori! I was always aggrivated by this, the extension works great! –  Keith Mar 25 '09 at 22:03
    
Yeah, it's a pretty useful thing ;) –  cori Mar 26 '09 at 13:12
up vote 5 down vote

If you're pasting into Word you can use the Paste Special command.

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up vote 1 down vote

Nice find with your PureText. I had build, before I change keyboard, a key that was running a macro that was copying-pasting-copying in notepad for this task! I'll give a try to your software since I do not have any macro key now :(

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up vote 1 down vote

I wrote an unpublished java app to monitor the clipboard, replacing items that offered text along with other richer formats, with items only offering the plain text format.

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up vote 1 down vote

I have Far.exe as the first item in the start menu.

Richtext in the clipboard ->

ctrl-escape,arrdown,enter,shift-f4,$,enter
shift-insert,ctrl-insert,alt-backspace,
f10,enter

-> plaintext in the clipboard

Pros: no mouse, just blind typing, ends exactly where i was before

Cons: ANSI encoding - international symbols are lost

Luckily, I do not have to do that too often :)

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up vote 0 down vote

Look for a little clipboard icon that pops up at the end of the material you pasted. Click on this and choose "keep text only".

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up vote 0 down vote

I use OpenOffice.org and that offers a paste special option, where you can omit the formatting altogether. If you are not bound to MS Word, it's IMO worth a try and it's free :-)

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2  
If only MS Word has such a feature :) –  hometoast Sep 23 '08 at 17:23
1  
MS Word has it's feature called "Special Paste" well in french version is "Collage spécial" –  Patrick Desjardins Sep 23 '08 at 17:25
1  
@hometoast if only MS Word was free... –  André Sep 24 '08 at 21:41
up vote 0 down vote

I usually work with Notepad2, all the text I copy from the web are pasted there and then reused, that allows me to clean it (from format and make modifications).

You can download Notepad2 here

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up vote 0 down vote

If you are using MS Word then try ALT+E, S, U, Enter (Uses the Paste Special)

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up vote -1 down vote

Whenever these plugins and options aren't available I just use my good ol friend notepad. Paste content into notepad where it won't accept the extra formatting and then copy it right back out. Sort of hacky but oh well. It works!

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1  
OP was asking for better/easier tools than the one suggested above that s/he moved on from for the reasons that brought his/her question. –  user66001 Aug 11 '13 at 20:17

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