How to copy and paste on Chromebook [In-Depth Tutorial]

how to copy and paste on Chromebook

you turn on your new chromatography book for the first time and get to work, you will probably have some questions about the thin Chrome operating system and how everything works. One question that users eventually have is, "How to copy and paste on Chrome?"  

The good news is that copying and pasting to a Chromebook works much like copying to other computer systems. We will review common copy/paste tasks and how you can do them quickly.

copy and paste on Chromebook a text selection

Do you need to copy a block of text quickly? Here is how:

Step 1: Start by highlighting the text you want to copy. On the Chromebook touchpad, you can press and hold your finger to create a selection box that highlights the text you want to copy while moving your finger. Everything that is highlighted will be copied. The use of a mouse for this type of selection allows a little more precision and speed.

Step 2: Now copy. The fastest way is the traditional keyboard shortcut, which still works on Chromebooks. Press the Ctrl and C keys at the same time. This will automatically copy the text and store it while waiting for you to paste it elsewhere.

Step 3: Go to the place where you want to paste the text and select this area so that the cursor is there. Then press the Ctrl and V keys at the same time. This will paste the selection. Note that it can happen several times since the content will remain stored in the clipboard until you overwrite it with another copy.

Note that the text format may change a bit from one place to another, or that it will not be copied with the same appearance. There is not much to do about it, except reformat as you go, or use a clipboard manager to remove the entire format, which may be a bit better for large projects.

Copy images and video

As long as the source allows you to copy images or videos (not everyone does), this is also a simple process. Let's go!

Step 1: Hover over the image or video you wish to copy and right-click on it. For the touchpad, the right mouse button must be set to one-touch with two fingers. This requires a little practice if you have not tried before, but it quickly becomes normal.

Step 2: If you are copying an image, you will see the options to copy the image, or copy the image address. The URL is useful for certain coding or publishing tasks, but generally copying the image itself is what you want to transfer the content.

Step 3: If you are copying a video, you will see options to copy the URL of the video and probably also copy the embedded code. Choose the one that suits you. Both the URL and the embedding code can be used to copy a video link to another place. To paste a video in a chat sequence or other casual use, you just need the URL.

Step 4: Go to the place you want to paste, place the cursor there with one touch and press Ctrl and V at the same time. This will copy the associated image or address.

Note that if you click on a thumbnail or a linked image, you will only see one option to copy the link address. This will give you a link to the web page where you can find the image or video. Go to that website if you want a more direct option.

Copy a complete web page

If you need to copy everything on a particular web page, this is how you do it!

Step 1: Click on a neutral part of the web page you wish to copy, where it will not be highlighted or selected, and press the Ctrl and A keys at the same time. This will highlight everything on the page.

Step 2: Without clicking again, press the Ctrl and C keys to copy everything that is highlighted.

Step 3: Move the cursor over the area where you want to paste the information, and press Ctrl and V.

Keep in mind that this will copy everything, including headers and buttons and other web content objects, but not necessarily with the design intact, which may seem ... very rare. If you want a complete image of the website, it is best to use the screen capture function.

Bonus: Copy and paste extensions

Once you're comfortable with your Chromebook, you may want to take a look at several extensions that make copying and pasting easy. There are many add-ons aimed at specific tasks: There is one that helps you copy several items at once, and another that is designed to facilitate copying with Office Online.

There are even extensions that speed up a monotonous copy and paste tasks, such as copying rows in ADP or copying Amazon listings for other programs. If you have a more complicated copy project, do a search in the Chrome web store and see what happens.

If you have any questions please do leave a comment below and we will be happy to answer it for you.