Dear TeachUsTech’ers,
Happy New Year! I hope you are enjoying this holiday season! If you received our first newsletter, we hope you enjoyed it and shared it with your friends and family.
These newsletters will be kept on our website, www.TeachUsTech.com for easy access in the future but these were created for you to print and keep a copy at your fingertips. If you like the content, please feel free to forward this email to your friends as well. I’m sure your friends and their loved ones will appreciate it.
In this newsletter we will show you how to copy, cut and paste text on both Windows and Mac computers. You can use these steps to copy a sentence from a web page into an email, a note, or a document. Think of it like making a photocopy of some words and placing that copy somewhere else.
What Do “Copy”, “Cut”, and “Paste” Mean?
Before we start, here’s a simple way to think about these three actions:
- Copy – makes a duplicate of something and keeps the original.
Like photocopying a page: you still have the original page and now you also have a copy.
- Cut – removes the original and gets it ready to be moved somewhere else.
Like cutting a coupon out of a flyer: the piece is no longer in the flyer; you move it to where you need it.
- Paste – places what you last copied or cut into a new spot.
Like taping that coupon onto a different page.
We’ll practice with text, but the same idea later works for pictures and files too.
Copy, Cut & Paste on a Windows Computer
We’ll pretend you found a sentence on a web page and want to move it into an email.
Step 1 – Highlight the text you want to work with
Open your web browser (Chrome, Microsoft Edge, or Firefox).
Go to any page with a sentence you want to practice with.
Move the mouse pointer to the beginning of the sentence.
Press and hold the left mouse button, then drag across the words to the end of the sentence.
Let go of the mouse button.
The words should now appear highlighted (usually with a colored background).
You must see the highlight before Copy, Cut, or Paste will work.
Step 2 – How to Copy on Windows
A. Using the mouse (right-click method)
Make sure your text is still highlighted.
Move your mouse pointer onto the highlighted text.
Click the right mouse button once.
A small menu will appear.
Click “Copy” in that menu.
B. Using the keyboard (shortcut method)
Make sure your text is still highlighted.
Hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard.
While holding Ctrl, tap the C key once.
Let go of both keys.
Your text is now copied. You will not see anything change yet, but Windows is holding a copy in memory, ready for you to paste.
Step 3 - How to Cut on Windows
Cut is very similar to Copy, but it removes the text from where it was.
You usually use Cut when editing your own writing (for example, moving a sentence to another part of an email).
1. Highlight the text you want to move (just like Step 1).
2. Use one of these methods:
Mouse Method
1. Right-click on the highlighted text.
2. Click “Cut” in the menu.
Keyboard Method
1. Hold down Ctrl.
2. While holding Ctrl, tap the X key once.
3. Let go of both keys.
The text should disappear from its original location. Don’t worry—Windows is holding it, ready for you to paste.
Step 4 - How to Paste on Windows
Now we’ll paste into a new email.
1. Open your email program (Gmail, Outlook, etc.).
2. Start a new email (look for “Compose”, “New message”, or “New email”).
3. Click in the big blank area where you type your message. You should see a blinking vertical line (the text cursor).
4. Use one of these methods:
Mouse Method
1. Right-click on the blank area.
2. Click “Paste” in the menu.
Keyboard Method
1. Hold down Ctrl.
2. While holding Ctrl, tap the V key once.
3. Let go of both keys.
Your copied or cut text should appear in your email.
Windows Quick Reference
• Copy = Ctrl + C
• Cut = Ctrl + X
• Paste = Ctrl + V
(You can say to yourself: C for copy, X looks like scissors for cut, and V is like the point where you drop things in.)
Copy, Cut & Paste on a Apple/Mac Computer
On a Mac, the idea is exactly the same, but you’ll use the Command key (⌘) instead of Ctrl.
Step 1 – Highlight the text you want to work with
1. Open Safari or Chrome on your Mac.
2. Go to a page with a sentence you want to use.
3. Move your pointer to the beginning of the sentence.
4. Press and hold the trackpad or mouse button.
5. Drag across the words to the end of the sentence.
6. Let go. The text should now be highlighted.
Step 2 – How to Copy on a Mac
A. Using the menu at the top of the screen
1. Make sure your text is highlighted.
2. Move your mouse to the very top of the screen.
3. Click “Edit” in the menu bar.
4. Click “Copy”.
B. Using the keyboard
1. Make sure your text is highlighted.
2. Hold down the Command (⌘) key.
3. While holding Command (⌘), tap the C key once.
4. Let go of both keys.
Your text is now copied and ready to paste.
Step 3 – How to Cut on a Mac
You can only Cut text in places where you are allowed to edit (for example: in an email you are writing, in a document, or a note). Most websites will let you Copy, but not Cut, because you don’t own that content.
To cut text in a message or document you are writing:
1. Highlight the text you want to move.
2. Use either method:
Menu method
1. Go to the top of the screen and click “Edit”.
2. Click “Cut”.
Keyboard method
1. Hold down Command (⌘).
2. While holding Command (⌘), tap the X key once.
3. Let go of both keys.
The text should disappear from where it was, but it is now stored, ready to paste.
Step 4 – How to Paste on a Mac
We’ll paste into a new email in the Mail app or your webmail.
1. Open the Mail app (or your email in Safari/Chrome).
2. Start a new message.
3. Click in the big blank area where you type your message. You should see the blinking text cursor.
4. Choose one of these:
Menu method
1. At the top of the screen, click “Edit”.
2. Click “Paste”.
Keyboard method
1. Hold down Command (⌘).
2. While holding Command (⌘), tap the V key once.
3. Let go.
Your copied or cut text will appear inside the email.
Mac Quick Reference
Copy = Command (⌘) + C
Cut = Command (⌘) + X
Paste = Command (⌘) + V
Final Tip: Practice on Something Safe
A good way to build confidence is to practice in a note or draft email where nothing important can be broken.
1. Open a new email or a notes app.
2. Type a short sentence, like:
“This is my practice sentence.”
3. Highlight it and try:
Copy and paste it twice.
Cut it and paste it into a new line.
The more times you repeat the steps, the more natural they will feel. Soon, copying, cutting, and pasting will be as automatic as writing your name.
We hope you enjoyed the TeachUsTech how-to guide on how to Cut, Copy and Paste!
You’re receiving this email from TeachUsTech because you subscribed on our website, signed up through one of our guides, or someone forwarded this to you and you chose to subscribe.
We send simple, step-by-step tech lessons about once a week, designed for everyday users (and the families who help them).
This email is for general educational purposes only. TeachUsTech is not affiliated with or endorsed by Apple, Microsoft, Google, or any other company mentioned in these guides. Please be careful when changing your settings or sharing personal information online.
Copyright © 2025 TeachUsTech. All rights reserved. You may print and save this email for your personal use, or forward the original email or link to others. Any other copying, publishing, or reuse of this content requires written permission from TeachUsTech.
Need help or want to suggest a topic? Email us at [email protected].