How to paste without formatting on Mac

In most Mac apps the shortcut is ⌘ Cmd+⌥ Option+⇧ Shift+V: it pastes the text and matches the style of your document.

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The general macOS shortcut

⌘ Cmd+⌥ Option+⇧ Shift+V is the shortcut for Edit › Paste and Match Style, which pastes the text using the style of the destination. It works in Safari, Chrome, Pages, Keynote, Notes, Mail and most native apps.

If it does nothing in an app, open the Edit menu: if the option exists, you'll see it there along with its shortcut.

In Google Docs

In Google Docs the shortcut is shorter: ⌘ Cmd+⇧ Shift+V, or Edit › Paste without formatting.

In TextEdit

TextEdit uses rich text by default. To remove all formatting from a document, use Format › Make Plain Text (⌘ Cmd+⇧ Shift+T).

In Word for Mac

Use Edit › Paste Special… and choose Unformatted Text. There are more options in the guide to pasting without formatting in Word.

Make Cmd+V always paste without formatting

In System Settings › Keyboard › Keyboard Shortcuts › App Shortcuts you can create a new shortcut: type the exact name of the option as it appears in the app's Edit menu (for example, Paste and Match Style) and assign it ⌘ Cmd+V.

If the shortcut doesn't work in your app, paste the text in the box above, click Copy plain text and paste it wherever you want: it will arrive without any formatting.

Frequently asked questions

How do I paste without formatting on iPhone or iPad?

iOS and iPadOS don't have a universal shortcut to paste without formatting. The easiest way is to open Pegatexto in Safari, paste the text in the box, tap “Copy plain text” and paste it into the destination app.

Does Cmd+Option+Shift+V remove links?

Yes. The text is pasted with the destination document's style, so the original links, bold text, colors and fonts are lost.

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