| This is a basic tutorial on how to use the Windows Clipboard. Take a few minutes to study this carefully and you will soon master this important feature of Windows.
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| If you have ever copied and pasted
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| something in a Windows application,
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| you have already used the Windows Clipboard.
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| The Clipboard is a time-saving and convenient tool you can use to move or copy information within one document or from one application to another. To use the Clipboard, first select some text or the item you wish to copy (text or graphics) and then tell a program to "copy" (or "cut") it to the Clipboard. You can then tell another program (or the same program) to "paste" the information.
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| There are three ways to use the Windows Clipboard:
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| · | From the Edit menu
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| · | Using hot-keys such as [Ctrl] -C for copy, after you select the item you wish to copy
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| · | Using right-click, after you select something
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| The Windows Clipboard is available in all programs from the Edit menu. Here is an example from Microsoft Word.
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| Although the Cut/Copy/Paste are always available from the Edit menu, many programs provide them on a Toolbar as shown (cut - copy - paste are the first three icons).
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| Why use it?
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| Use the Windows Clipboard to work faster and smarter. Without it, you will be wasting time. Once you get the hang of it, you will use the Clipboard all the time.
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þ Step by Step
| 1. | Launch your word processing program. Type a few things in, then move your mouse cursor to the beginning of the text that you want to copy.
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| 2. | Hold down your left mouse button and glide your cursor along the text that you want to copy.
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| 3. | Once you have all text highlighted that you want to copy, release the left mouse button, select Edit|Copy from the menu bar at the top of your screen. Until you complete this step, there is nothing in the Clipboard, and Windows will not be able to Paste anything.
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| 4. | To paste the text that you just copied, move your cursor to the area where your want to place your text (this may be in the same program or in a different one) and click your left mouse button.
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| 5. | From the menu bar, select Edit|Paste. The text will be pasted and appear in your document.
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| 6. | That is all there is to it! Now try these same steps, but between different programs (for example, copy some text from Internet Explorer and paste it into Microsoft Word or your email program - or ReadPlease).
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Top Clipboard Tips
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| Tip #1 - Quicker ways to use the Clipboard
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| Try using hotkeys to copy/paste/cut. If you can't remember these, they are shown on the Edit menu - see Word Edit menu above.
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| [Ctrl]-C is copy, [Ctrl]-V is paste, [Ctrl]-X is cut
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| You can also right-click on the selected text to pop up a menu to copy or paste. Note that you must be on the selected area when you right-click (shown in black here).
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| Tip #2 - Forget the mouse - easier and faster with keys
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| Many users find it easier and faster to select text with the keyboard rather than with the mouse. To do this, position your cursor at the start of the text, then hold down the [Shift] key and select with the cursor keys [->] or any key that navigates like [PageUp]. Once text is selected, you may copy to the Clipboard with [Ctrl]-C then more to where you want it pasted with the cursor keys and press [Ctrl]-V to paste. This may take a bit of practise, but when you get the hang of it you will find the mouse too slow.
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| Tip #3 - Only one thing at a time
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| Only one chunk of data can be on the Clipboard at a time. As soon as you cut or copy something new, the old data will be replaced. Since the information remains in the Clipboard, it may be pasted numerous times. When you exit Windows, the Clipboard is cleared.
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| Tip #4 - Use the mouse to select words and paragraphs
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| Double-click on a word will select the word, Triple-click will often select the entire paragraph. Once the word or paragraph is selected, you can then copy or cut it.
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| Tip #5 - Bonus Hotkeys
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| If you find hotkeys useful, try out:
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| [Ctrl]-A - this will Select All - everything on your screen.
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| [Ctrl]-Z - it will Undo your last action in case you made a boo-boo. If the last action was a paste, it will undo the paste. Both of these hotkeys are listed under the Edit menu, and the hotkey combinations are displayed on the menu.
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