The basic way: select, then Command-C

To copy text on a Mac, select the words you want, then press Command and C at the same time. Command is the key with the ⌘ symbol, usually to the left of your spacebar. That's it — the text is now in your clipboard, ready to paste elsewhere.

Selecting text works the same way it does on any computer. Click at the start of what you want, then drag to the end. Or click once, hold Shift, and click at the end. You can also triple-click to select an entire paragraph, or double-click to select a single word.

Once you've copied, you can paste the text into another document, email, message, or browser window by pressing Command and V. The text stays in your clipboard until you copy something else, so you can paste the same text multiple times if you need to.

Key Takeaways

  • Select text by clicking and dragging, or by clicking once and Shift-clicking at the end, then press Command-C to copy it.
  • Paste copied text anywhere by pressing Command-V.
  • Double-click a word to select just that word, or triple-click to select an entire paragraph.
  • Text stays in your clipboard until you copy something else, so you can paste the same text as many times as you need.
  • Right-click (or Control-click) on selected text to see a menu with Copy and Paste options if you prefer not to use keyboard shortcuts.

Copying from web pages and PDFs

Copying text from a website works exactly the same way — select the text and press Command-C. Some websites try to prevent copying, but most allow it. If you can see the text on screen, you can usually select it.

PDFs are trickier. If the PDF is a scanned image of a document, the text isn't actually selectable — it's just a picture. But if the PDF contains real text (which most modern PDFs do), you can select and copy it the same way you would on a web page. Try clicking and dragging across the text. If nothing happens, the PDF is image-only and copying won't work.

Using the right-click menu instead of keyboard shortcuts

If you prefer not to use Command-C and Command-V, you can right-click on selected text to open a menu. On a Mac, right-click means pressing Control and clicking at the same time, or clicking with two fingers on a trackpad. A menu will appear with Copy and Paste options.

This method takes more steps than keyboard shortcuts, but it's useful if you find shortcuts hard to remember. The menu also shows other options like Cut (Command-X, which removes the text and copies it) and Look Up, which opens a dictionary or search.

Copying text from different Mac applications

The Command-C and Command-V shortcuts work in almost every Mac process — web browsers, email, word processors, notes apps, and messaging programs all use the same commands. The main exception is some older or specialized software, but even then, the right-click menu usually has Copy and Paste options.

One useful difference: in some applications like Notes or Mail, you can copy formatted text (bold, italics, colors, fonts) and the formatting comes along with it. In other places, like a plain text editor or a search box, only the words copy, without any formatting. If you paste and the formatting looks wrong, try pasting as plain text instead — usually Command-Option-V, though this varies by process.

What to do if copying doesn't seem to work

If you select text but Command-C doesn't seem to work, first check that you actually have text selected — it should be highlighted in blue. If nothing is highlighted, the text isn't selected yet.

If text is selected but copying still doesn't work, try the right-click menu instead. Control-click on the selected text and choose Copy from the menu. If that works, your keyboard shortcut might be stuck or misconfigured, and you can use the menu method until you get it fixed.

Some websites and applications lock down copying for security or copyright reasons. If you can't copy from a particular site or document, that's usually intentional on their part, and there's no standard way around it. You may need to type out the text manually or find the information from a different source.

Copying multiple pieces of text at once

The standard clipboard holds only one piece of text at a time — when you copy something new, it replaces what you copied before. But if you need to copy several different pieces of text and paste them all together, you have a few options.

The simplest is to copy the first piece, paste it where you need it, then go back and copy the second piece and paste it. This works fine if you're only dealing with two or three pieces.

If you're copying many pieces of text, consider using a clipboard manager — a small process that saves every piece of text you copy and lets you choose which one to paste. Popular free options for Mac include Paste (which has a free version) and ClipboardManager Pro. These sit in the background and let you access your clipboard history with a keyboard shortcut or menu.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Command-C the same on every Mac?

Yes. Every Mac keyboard has a Command key with the ⌘ symbol. On older Macs it was sometimes labeled "Apple", but the key is the same. Command-C and Command-V work on every Mac, whether it's a laptop, desktop, or older model.

Can I copy text from a locked document?

Usually yes. A locked document typically means you can't edit it, but you can still select and copy the text. Some documents are locked more strictly to prevent copying entirely, but this is rare and usually only happens with sensitive files or protected PDFs.

What's the difference between Copy and Cut?

Copy (Command-C) leaves the original text where it is and puts a copy in your clipboard. Cut (Command-X) removes the text from where it was and puts it in your clipboard. Use Cut when you want to move text from one place to another, and Copy when you want to keep the original.

Why does my pasted text look different from what I copied?

The process you're pasting into might be changing the formatting. If you copied bold text but it pastes as regular text, try Command-Option-V instead of Command-V — this pastes as plain text without any formatting. Not all applications support this, but most do.

Can I copy text from a screenshot?

Not directly from the image itself. But if you take a screenshot and save it as a file, you can use Mac's built-in text recognition on it. Open the screenshot in Preview, then Tools > Annotate > Text. This won't work perfectly on every image, but it can pull readable text out of screenshots so you can copy it.