Your Detailed Guide for ‘How to Copy and Paste on Chromebook’

| Updated on March 19, 2024

As people have long made comparisons between Windows and Apple, and how Apple’s OS is pretty ‘complicated’, the Chromebook by Google is no exception. 

Even though it might be the cooler version of the MacBook in an Android way (just an opinion), the Chromebook, too, has its own way of going around things. 

Unlike most of the laptop series, Chromebook requires different ways to do simple actions on its Chrome OS, and we are going to break down one of them in today’s article. 

And that is (drumroll ), how to copy and paste on Chromebook. It might sound pretty easy, but for many, it’s not really the case! So let’s get started with the guide to copy and paste every possible thing on the Chromebook. 

Copyand-paste-on-Chromebook

How to Copy and Paste Text on Chromebook? 

Being a powerful laptop, Chromebook is a popular budget-friendly choice for many. And why won’t it be – it is lightweight and stands out with its sleek design, after all. So there are Chromebook users who can’t quite figure out its features at times.

Therefore, we are going to explain the different methods to copy and paste text on Chromebook. First, we will take on the keyboard shortcuts way. 

Keyboard Shortcuts

The steps for keyboard combos might seem familiar to what you have experienced while using other laptops as it is not very different, except for the layout, of course. 

  • Using the touchpad, go to the text that you want to copy and highlight or select it.
    Select and copy the text.
  • Now press the Ctrl + C keys, and the text will get copied to the clipboard. 
  • After that, go to the location where you want to paste the copied text. Then click on Ctrl + V
    Press Ctrl + V.

Apart from using the key shortcuts, you can copy and paste on Chromebook using your trackpad or mouse as well. 

Using Trackpad or Mouse

Another way to copy and paste text on Chromebook is via a trackpad or mouse. That obviously means without having to press the keys. So here are the steps for it: 

  • Press and drag the text that you want to copy.
    Select the text.
  • Once it has been selected, right-click on it.
  • Then select Copy from the options that appear.
    Click on Copy.
  • Now you can go to the space where you wish you save the copied text.
    Go to the location for pasting text.
  • After that, right-click again and click on Paste
    Click on Paste.
  • After that, the text will get pasted successfully. 
    Pasted text. 

If you find this method complicated, you have one more way to copy and paste text on your Chromebook via the App Menus. 

Using App Menus 

By using the App Menus to copy and paste on Chromebook, the method is a simple on-screen process. The steps for it are as follows: 

  • Using your touchpad or mouse, hover and drag on the text that you want to copy and select it. 
  • Then click on the three vertical dots given on the top right of the page.
    verticladots
  • Now click on Copy, and the selected text will get copied.
    copy 2
  • After that, go to the page or document where you want to paste the copied text. 
  • Click on the three vertical dots again, and this time click on Paste.
    Past e

Now the copied text is pasted on the document or page where you wanted it to be. On the other hand, if you want to know how to copy and paste a picture on Chromebooks, you can head over to the following section. 

Steps to Copy and Paste Pictures on Chromebook

Now that you know how to copy and paste text on Chromebook, let’s see how to copy and paste images on Chromebook. But before we get started with the steps, keep a note that if you are trying to copy and paste an image from a source that doesn’t allow it, the given steps won’t work. 

So now let’s follow the steps to solve the query “How do I copy and paste on a Chromebook?”

  • Go to the picture that you want to copy. 
    Go to the image to copy.
  • Right-click on it, and options will appear. 
    Right-click on the image.
  • Then tap on Copy image to copy the image as it is, and to copy its link, click on Copy image address.
    Click on Copy image.
  • Once you do that, go to the location where you want to paste the copied image or its link.
  • Now click on Ctrl + V keys or select Paste, and the image or its address will get pasted there successfully.
    Select Paste.

You can also right-click on the space and select Paste. Now that you know how to copy and paste pictures on Chromebook, if you want to copy a video, the steps for it are given in the section below.

How to Copy and Paste Videos on Chromebook

The process of copying and pasting videos on a Chromebook is quite similar to the steps for images. The steps for it are as follows:

  • Open the video that you want to copy.
    Go to the video.
  • Then right click on it and click on Copy video URL
    Tap on Copy video URL.
  • Now the link will get copied. Then head over to the space where you want to paste it. 
  • Once you are on it, right-click again and select Paste or press the Ctrl + V keys. 
    Click on Paste.

And that’s it! Now you can simply view and play the video once you visit the link by clicking on it. In addition, if you want to copy an entire webpage or any page in general, read on.

Ways to Copy a Full Webpage

If you want to copy a whole webpage, including the headers, text, images, and other content on it, and not a screenshot instead, here are the steps for it.

  • Click anywhere (except the images or any link) on the web page that you want to copy and press Ctrl + A.
  • Now the entire page will be selected, and all you have to do is press the Ctrl + C keys. The page will get copied.
    Click Ctrl + C keys.
  • After that, go to the folder where you want to paste it, and once you’re there, press Ctrl + V or select Paste
    Click on Ctrl + V.

Quick Tip: To paste the webpage, you can also right-click and select Paste from the options that appear. 

Copy and Paste Extensions for Chromebook

Apart from the smooth functioning of all the Google Workspace, another of the many advantages of using a Chromebook is having access to lots of extensions. They make the work so much easier, after all.

And in addition, they can help with the copy and paste task on Chromebook as well. We are going to list down some extensions that will help you out on Chromebook. 

These are some of the best extensions that you can use to copy and paste on a Chromebook. Another query that users have is for copying and pasting on a Chromebook but using the touchscreen. So in the next section, you can find the answer to that.

Steps to Copy and Paste on a Touchscreen Chromebook

In Chromebooks, there are some that have touchscreen functionality. And if your Chromebook also supports it, the steps won’t be much different from how you copy and paste on your touchscreen smartphone. To copy and paste on Chromebook, you can follow the steps given below: 

  • Using your finger, double-tap on the text from the screen that you want to copy.
  • Then slide it until the end of the part that you want to copy. 
  • Once it gets selected or highlighted, the options will appear; select Copy.
  • Now go to the location where you want to paste the text. When you have it open, press and hold > select Paste.

With the help of these steps, you will be able to successfully copy and paste the text or content on your Chromebook using its screen. If you want to do it without formatting, read on. 

Copy and Paste on Chromebook Without Formatting

To paste without formatting can be pretty useful as the content is getting copied from an existing page or document. This will help you in getting rid of the different fonts and colors throughout the text. 

So there are basically two ways that you can go while pasting any text without formatting, and they are Paste without formatting or its shortcut, Ctrl +Shift + V.

Paste without formatting option.

Using this option while pasting the text, all the formatting in the copied text will be removed and will be pasted without it in the same font. 

Now, to find out the previously copied text in your clipboard history, follow the steps given in the next section.

How to Find the Chromebook Clipboard?

Not just in the case of Google Chromebook, but in many other laptops, users often don’t know how to find clipboard history. So now that we are talking about different methods to copy and format various things on Chromebook, let’s have a look at the steps to find the clipboard on Chromebook.

  • From the left side of your keyboard, press the search key + v.
  • Then you can switch to other copied things using the arrow keys or tab key if you want to change the copied text.
  • After that, press the Enter key, and the item will get selected.

You can also delete an item by tapping on the x icon given next to it. With the help of the above-given steps, you will be able to see your past five copied things as a history of Chromebook Clipboard. 

Reason Why Chromebook Won’t Copy and Paste

If you have tried all the steps explained so far and also followed the different methods, but still, your Chromebook won’t copy and paste, don’t worry. It is possible that you might not have the right permission settings required for the process.

To solve this issue, you can follow the steps given below: 

  • Go to Settings > Permissions.
  • Now click on the option of Enable Copy and Paste.
  • Ensure that the box is ticked, and now you can try copying and pasting again.

And if you still can’t copy and paste on your Chromebook, you can try restarting your Chromebook and see if this works! It’s about time that you stop wondering, “How do you copy and paste on a Chromebook” and follow the given steps in the article.

Final Thoughts 

There are a variety of reasons why one would want to use the copy-and-paste option on a Chromebook, firstly because it is a useful feature when one wants to get the content or media from any particular website or page. 

Not only that, but one can also copy an entire page using the feature with quick keyboard shortcuts. From text, images, and videos to websites, one can copy the text or media using the list of extensions for Chromebook given in the article. 

Sources



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Janvi Panthri

Senior Writer, Editor


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