As people have been making comparisons between Windows and Apple for a long time, and how “complicated” Apple’s operating system is, Google’s Chromebook is no exception.
While it may be a cooler version of the MacBook in the Android way (just an opinion), the Chromebook also has its own way of doing things.
Unlike most series of laptops, Chromebooks require different ways to perform simple actions on their Chrome OS, and we’re going to break down one of them in today’s article.
And that’s (drum roll 🥁), how to copy and paste on a Chromebook. It may seem easy enough, but for many, it really isn’t! So let’s get started with a guide to copying and pasting all sorts of things on a Chromebook.
Content
- How to copy and paste text on Chromebook?
- Keyboard shortcuts
- Using the touchpad or mouse
- Using the application menu
- Steps to copy and paste images on Chromebook
- How to copy and paste videos on Chromebook?
- Ways to Copy an Entire Web Page
- Copy and paste Chromebook extensions
- Steps to copy and paste on a touchscreen Chromebook
- Copy and paste to Chromebook without formatting
- How to find Chromebook clipboard?
- The reason Chromebook won’t copy and paste
- final thoughts
How to copy and paste text on Chromebook?
Being a powerful laptop, the Chromebook is a popular budget option for many. And why not, it is still light and stands out for its elegant design. Therefore, there are Chromebook users who are sometimes unable to understand its features.
Therefore, we will explain the different methods to copy and paste text on Chromebook. First, we’ll look at the keyboard shortcut method.
Keyboard shortcuts
The steps for keyboard combinations may look familiar from what you’ve experienced using other laptops, as they’re not much different, except for appearance of course.
- Use the touchpad to navigate to the text you want to copy and highlight or select it.
- Now press the Ctrl + C keys and the text will be copied to the clipboard.
- After that, go to the place where you want to paste the copied text. Then click Ctrl + V.
In addition to keyboard shortcuts, you can also copy and paste on a Chromebook with a pad or mouse.
Using the touchpad or mouse
Another way to copy and paste text on a Chromebook is with the trackpad or mouse. This obviously means no keystrokes. So here are the steps for that:
- Click and drag the text you want to copy.
- Once selected, right click on it.
- Then select Copy from the options that appear.
- Now you can go to the space where you want to save the copied text.
- After that, right click again and click Paste.
- After that, the text will be pasted successfully.
If this method is difficult for you, there is another way to copy and paste text on your Chromebook through the application menu.
Using the application menu
Using the app’s menu to copy and paste on the Chromebook, the method is a simple on-screen process. The steps for this are as follows:
- Using the touchpad or mouse, drag and drop the text you want to copy and select it.
- Then click on the three vertical dots in the top right corner of the page.
- Now click Copy and the selected text will be copied.
- After that, go to the page or document where you want to paste the copied text.
- Click the three vertical dots again, and this time click Paste.
Now the copied text is pasted into the document or page where you wanted it. On the other hand, if you want to know how to copy and paste an image on a Chromebook, you can skip to the next section.
Steps to copy and paste images on Chromebook
Now that you know how to copy and paste text on a Chromebook, let’s take a look at how to copy and paste images on a Chromebook. But before you start with the steps, please note that if you are trying to copy and paste an image from a source that does not allow it, then the provided steps will not work.
Let’s now follow the steps to resolve the query “How do I copy and paste on Chromebook?”
- Go to the image you want to copy.
- Right click on it and the options will appear.
- Then tap Copy Image to copy the image as is and to copy its link, click Copy Image Address.
- Once you’ve done that, navigate to the location where you want to paste the copied image or its link.
- Now click Ctrl + V keys or select Paste and the image or its address will be successfully pasted there.
You can also right-click in the space and select Paste. Now that you know how to copy and paste images on Chromebook, if you want to copy a video, the steps to do so are provided in the section below.
How to Copy and Paste Videos on Chromebook
The process of copying and pasting videos on a Chromebook is quite similar to the steps for images. The steps for this are as follows:
- Open the video you want to copy.
- Then right click on it and click Copy Video URL.
- The link will now be copied. Then move to the place where you want to paste it.
- Once you’re in it, right click again and select Paste or press Ctrl + V.
And that is! Now you can easily preview and play a video after visiting a link by clicking on it. Also, if you want to copy an entire website or any page in general, keep reading.
Ways to Copy an Entire Web Page
If you want to copy an entire web page, including headers, text, images, and other content, instead of a screenshot, here are the steps to do so.
- Click anywhere (except images or links) on the web page you want to copy and press Ctrl + A.
- Now the entire page will be selected and all you have to do is press Ctrl + C. The page will be copied.
- After that, go to the folder where you want to paste and when you are there, press Ctrl + V or select Paste.
👉🏻 Quick tip: To paste a web page, you can also right-click and select Paste from the options that appear.
Copy and paste Chromebook extensions
In addition to the smooth operation of the entire Google Workspace, another of the many benefits of using a Chromebook is access to many extensions. After all, they make work much easier.
In addition, I can also help you with the task of copying and pasting on a Chromebook. We are going to list some extensions that will help you on your Chromebook.
- Buffer History Pro
- Copy Paste Pro
- Multicopy buffer
- copy and paste adp
- clipboard manager
- Office: enable copy and paste
- Clipper
- Copy as plain text
Here are some of the best extensions you can use to copy and paste on your Chromebook. Another query that users have is to copy and paste on a Chromebook, but using the touch screen. So in the next section you can find the answer to that.
Steps to copy and paste on a touchscreen Chromebook
On Chromebooks, there are some that have touchscreen functionality. And if your Chromebook supports it, the steps won’t be too different from how to copy and paste on a touchscreen smartphone. To copy and paste on Chromebook, you can follow the steps below:
- Double-tap the screen text you want to copy.
- Then drag it to the end of the part you want to copy.
- Once selected or checked, the options will appear; select Copy.
- Now go to the place where you want to paste the text. When you open it, touch and hold > select Paste.
With the help of these steps, you will be able to successfully copy and paste text or content on your Chromebook using your screen. If you want to do this without formatting, read on.
Copy and paste to Chromebook without formatting
Plain Paste can be very useful because the content is copied from an existing page or document. This will help you get rid of different fonts and colors in the text.
Basically, there are two ways to paste any text without formatting and that is Paste Without Formatting or its shortcut, Ctrl + Shift + V.
Using this option when pasting text will remove all formatting from the copied text and paste without it in the same font.
Now, to find the previously copied text in the clipboard history, follow the steps in the next section.
How to find Chromebook clipboard?
Not only in the case of Google Chromebooks, but also many other laptops, users often don’t know how to find clipboard history. Now that we are talking about different methods to copy and format various things on a Chromebook, let’s take a look at the steps to find the clipboard on a Chromebook.
- On the left side of the keyboard, press the search key + v.
- You can then switch to other copied things using the arrow keys or the tab key if you want to change the copied text.
- After that, press the Enter key and the item will be selected.
You can also remove an item by tapping the x icon next to it. With the help of the above steps, you will be able to view the last five copied items as your Chromebook’s clipboard history.
The reason Chromebook won’t copy and paste
If you’ve tried all the steps so far and followed different methods, but your Chromebook still won’t copy and paste, don’t worry. You may not have the correct permission settings required for the process.
To resolve this issue, you can follow the steps below:
- Go to Settings > Permissions.
- Now click on the Enable copy and paste option.
- Make sure the box is checked and you can now try to copy and paste again.
And if you still can’t copy and paste to your Chromebook, you can try restarting your Chromebook and see if that works. It is high time that you stop wondering “How to copy and paste on Chromebook” and follow the steps provided in the article.
final thoughts
There are several reasons why one would want to use the copy and paste option on a Chromebook, firstly because it is a useful feature when you want to get content or media from any website or page.
Not only that, but an entire page can also be copied using the hotkey feature. From text, images and videos to websites, you can copy text or media using the list of Chromebook extensions provided in the article.
Sources:
Mitch Harris, How to Copy and Paste on a Chromebook, wikiHow
Read more: Google Pixelbook i7 review: A Chromebook like no other
Categories: How to
Source: HIS Education