What is Paste Without Formatting?
When you copy text from a website, Word document, or email, invisible formatting comes along — fonts, colors, bold/italic styles, links, and background colors. Pasting this into a new document often creates a messy mix of styles. "Paste without formatting" strips all of this away, giving you clean, plain text. This tool provides an instant way to remove formatting from any copied text. Just paste (Ctrl+V or Cmd+V) or click the Paste button, and the formatting is removed automatically. All processing happens in your browser — your text is never sent to any server.
How to Paste Without Formatting
Most operating systems and applications have built-in keyboard shortcuts for pasting without formatting: • Windows / Linux: Ctrl+Shift+V • Mac: Cmd+Shift+V (some apps use Cmd+Option+Shift+V) • Google Docs: Ctrl+Shift+V / Cmd+Shift+V • Microsoft Word: Ctrl+Alt+V → select "Unformatted Text" • Outlook: Ctrl+Shift+V If these shortcuts don't work in your application, or if you need to clean up text that's already been pasted, use this online tool. Paste your text above, and the formatting will be stripped instantly.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What does 'paste without formatting' mean?
- It means removing all visual formatting — fonts, colors, bold, italics, links, and background styles — from copied text, leaving only the plain text content. This is useful when pasting from Word, Google Docs, emails, or web pages into a new document without carrying over unwanted styles.
- How do I paste without formatting on Mac?
- On Mac, use Cmd+Shift+V in most applications (Chrome, Firefox, Google Docs, Slack). Some apps like Microsoft Word use Cmd+Option+Shift+V instead. If the shortcut doesn't work in your app, paste your text into this tool to strip the formatting instantly.
- Does this tool send my text to a server?
- No. All processing happens entirely in your browser using standard Web APIs (Clipboard API and DOMParser). Your text never leaves your device — there are no server requests, no analytics on your content, and no data storage.
- What formatting is removed?
- This tool removes: font families and sizes, text colors, bold/italic/underline styles, background colors, hyperlink URLs (link text is kept), table structures, inline CSS styles, and HTML tags. Paragraph breaks and line breaks are preserved so your text remains readable.
- Can I paste from Word or Google Docs?
- Yes. This tool handles rich text from Microsoft Word, Google Docs, web pages, email clients (Gmail, Outlook), and any application that copies formatted text to the clipboard.
- Why does Ctrl+V paste with formatting?
- Most applications default to pasting rich text (with formatting) when you use Ctrl+V (or Cmd+V on Mac). To paste as plain text, use Ctrl+Shift+V (Cmd+Shift+V on Mac) instead. Not all apps support this shortcut, which is why tools like this one exist.
- Is this tool free?
- Yes. It's completely free with no ads, no registration required, and no usage limits.
- What browsers are supported?
- All modern browsers are supported: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. The Paste button uses the Clipboard API, which may show a permission prompt on Firefox and Safari.