How to copy and paste on Chromebook

If you just got a new Chromebook in 2024 and want to learn the basics, like copy and paste, you've come to the right place. In this article, TipsMake will look at many different ways to copy and paste text, files, and folders on Chromebook.

Copy and paste text

Text is the most common thing you need to copy and paste. So let's see how you can do it.

Use your keyboard or touchpad

1. Click and drag the cursor to highlight the text you want to copy from beginning to end. You can also double-click a word to select it, or triple-click to highlight an entire paragraph.

2. Now, press Ctrl + C to copy or Ctrl + X to cut. You can also right-click and select Copy/Cut.

3. Click once on the location where you want to paste the text and then press Ctrl + V or right-click and select Paste.

4. If you want to paste without formatting, press Ctrl + Shift + V. Alternatively, you can right-click and select Paste as plain text or Paste without format.

Use the touch screen

The method on a touch screen is similar to that on a touchpad. You can follow these steps on the touch screen:

Press and hold or double-tap > Select text > Press and hold > Select Copy > Press and hold > Select Paste.

Copy and paste files or folders

You can also copy and paste files or folders using the keyboard and mouse.

Use the keyboard

1. Click the file or folder you want to copy. If you want to select all files, press Ctrl + A. To select specific files, press Ctrl and click those files and folders. You can also press Shift and select multiple files in succession by clicking the first and last files.
2. After selecting, press Ctrl + C to copy or Ctrl + X to cut (move).
3. Navigate to the location where you want to paste the file or folder you just copied.
4. Once there, press Ctrl + V to paste.

If you want to copy the file name, click on the file and press Ctrl + Enter. Now, you can copy the file name with or without the file extension.

Use a touchpad or mouse

1. Right click on the file or folder.
2. Select Copy to create a copy of the file or Cut to move the file.
3. Go to the desired destination and right-click anywhere in the empty space.
4. Click Paste to copy/move the item.

If you want to copy the file name, right-click on the file and click Rename. Once the file name is highlighted, right-click on the text and click Copy or Cut. Now you can paste the text anywhere you want.

Use the touch screen

The steps to use the touch screen are almost the same as the steps to use the touchpad. The only difference is how you get to the context menu. You can do so by pressing and holding the file or folder and then tapping an empty area in the destination. So the process will be:

Press and hold > Select Copy / Cut > Press and hold > Select Paste.

Copy and paste links or media content

The basic copy and paste steps are the same as above. The following are the only differences to note:

1. When you right-click on a link, you will have the options Copy link address, Copy text or Copy link to highlight to highlight, allowing you to share the page where you found the link. The gluing process is the same.

1. For images, you have the option to Copy image to get the image itself or Copy image address to copy its link address. Same options for video.

Isabella Humphrey

Update 04 March 2024