# Paste Without Formatting: Shortcuts for Mac and Windows > Paste as plain text: ⌥ + ⇧ + ⌘ + V on a Mac, Ctrl + Shift + V in Windows browsers, Keep Text Only in Word. Plus how to make plain text the default. URL: https://clipten.com/paste-without-formatting Updated: 2026-10-02 About ClipTen: https://clipten.com/llms.txt ClipTen (https://clipten.com/) Paste without formatting ## Paste without formatting on Mac and Windows Copied text drags its font, size, colour and links along with it. These shortcuts paste just the words, so they match the text around them. ### Quick answer Checked October 2026 by the founder | Where | Paste as plain text | | Mac, most apps | ⌥ + ⇧ + ⌘ + V | | Windows: Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Google Docs, Slack, Teams | Ctrl + Shift + V | | Google Docs on a Mac | ⌘ + ⇧ + V | | Word for Windows (Microsoft 365) | Ctrl + Shift + V, or paste, then press Ctrl and T for Keep Text Only | | Word, Excel, PowerPoint | Ctrl + Alt + V for Paste Special, then Unformatted Text or Values | No shortcut in that app? Paste into our free remove formatting tool (https://clipten.com/tools/remove-formatting-from-text) and copy the plain text back out. ### On a Mac The system-wide shortcut is ⌥ + ⇧ + ⌘ + V, called Paste and Match Style. It works in Mail, Notes, Pages, TextEdit, Safari and most other apps, and it is in the Edit menu where an app supports it. - Google Docs and Gmail in a browser: ⌘ + ⇧ + V. - Word for Mac: Edit › Paste Special › Unformatted Text, or the paste options button after pasting. - TextEdit as a cleaner: paste into a new document, choose Format › Make Plain Text (⌘ + ⇧ + T), then copy again. ### On Windows Ctrl + Shift + V pastes plain text in Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Google Docs, Gmail, Slack, Teams and many other apps. Office has its own ways: - Word (Microsoft 365): Ctrl + Shift + V pastes text only. In any version, paste normally, press Ctrl on its own, then T for Keep Text Only. - Word, PowerPoint, Outlook: Ctrl + Alt + V opens Paste Special. Choose Unformatted Text. - Excel: Ctrl + Alt + V, then V for Values, pastes the numbers without the cell formatting. - Notepad as a cleaner: paste in, copy back out. Notepad cannot hold formatting, so none survives. Microsoft’s free PowerToys adds Advanced Paste, which pastes plain text in any app with Win + Ctrl + Alt + V. ### Make plain text the default - Word for Windows: File › Options › Advanced › Cut, copy, and paste. Set Pasting from other programs to Keep Text Only. - Mac, one app or all: in System Settings › Keyboard › Keyboard Shortcuts › App Shortcuts, add a shortcut with the menu title Paste and Match Style and the keys ⌘ + V. That app then pastes plain text on a normal paste. - Google Docs: there is no setting; use Ctrl + Shift + V or ⌘ + ⇧ + V. ### When you need the formatting gone for good Paste-as-plain-text removes fonts, colours and links. It can leave behind things you cannot see: non-breaking spaces, zero-width characters and hard line breaks from PDFs. These tools clean them out in your browser: - Remove formatting (https://clipten.com/tools/remove-formatting-from-text): paste anything, get plain text back. - Remove line breaks (https://clipten.com/tools/remove-line-breaks): joins lines broken by PDFs and emails. - Clipboard viewer (https://clipten.com/clipboard-viewer-online): shows every format your copy carries, so you can see what is hiding. ### Where ClipTen fits Sometimes you want the formatting: the signature with its link, the table with its layout. A plain-text paste would lose it. ClipTen (https://clipten.com/) keeps a copy exactly as you copied it. Ctrl + C + 1 saves it to key 1, formatting and all, and Ctrl + V + 1 pastes it in any app. On a Mac it is ⌘ + C + 1 and ⌘ + V + 1. Ten slots, kept after a restart. Slots 1 to 5 are free. See how it works → (https://clipten.com/how-it-works) Last checked October 2026. ### Questions #### How do I paste without formatting on a Mac? Press ⌥ + ⇧ + ⌘ + V (Paste and Match Style). In Google Docs in a browser, use ⌘ + ⇧ + V. In Word for Mac, use Edit › Paste Special › Unformatted Text. #### How do I paste without formatting on Windows? Press Ctrl + Shift + V in Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Google Docs, Slack and Teams. In Word, paste and then press Ctrl and T for Keep Text Only, or use Ctrl + Alt + V and choose Unformatted Text. #### What is the shortcut to paste plain text in Word? In Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows, Ctrl + Shift + V. In any version, paste normally, then press Ctrl and T to keep text only. Ctrl + Alt + V opens Paste Special, where you choose Unformatted Text. #### How do I make Word always paste plain text? Go to File › Options › Advanced, find Cut, copy, and paste, and set Pasting from other programs to Keep Text Only. #### Why does Ctrl + Shift + V not work? Not every app supports it. Older Word versions use it for something else, and some apps have no plain-text paste at all. Use Paste Special there, or clean the text first with a free remove-formatting tool. ### Keep reading - How to copy and paste on MacKeyboard, trackpad and files (https://clipten.com/how-to-copy-and-paste-on-mac) - Remove formatting toolPaste anything, get plain text (https://clipten.com/tools/remove-formatting-from-text) - Copy and paste shortcut keysThe full cheat sheet (https://clipten.com/copy-and-paste-shortcut-keys) - Clipboard viewerSee every format you copied (https://clipten.com/clipboard-viewer-online) - Copying several things at onceTen copies, one key each (https://clipten.com/how-to-copy-and-paste-multiple-things) Download forMac (https://clipten.com/mac#install) Get it fromMicrosoft - Slots 1 to 5 free, no daily limit - No card, no subscription - All 10 slots for $15, once On a Mac, it installs in about a minute with one line in Terminal (https://clipten.com/mac#install).