- Where's the App list?
- Which version of Windows Phone do I have?
- Lock screen
- Set alarms on my phone
- Copy and paste
- Find a lost phone
- Set up Kid's Corner
- Keyboard
- Backup and storage
- Share things on my phone
- How do I update my phone software?
- Windows Phone 8 update history
- Use Speech on my phone
- Wallet
- Use my phone for work
- Tips to help keep my Windows Phone secure
- Switch between apps
- Accessibility on my phone
- Reset my phone
- Make the most of my battery and data usage
- What do the icons on my phone mean?
- Privacy resources
- Feature and service availability
Copy and paste
You can copy just about any kind of text on your phone and paste it almost anywhere you can type, saving yourself time and headaches. Copy an address from an email message and paste it as your destination in maps. Copy a recipe from the web and paste it into an SMS message to a friend. Copy a paragraph from a Word doc in Office Mobile and paste it into an email to your boss.
There are two ways to copy text: by highlighting the text or by using the menu option. Once you've copied some text, you can navigate around your phone and paste it whenever you're ready, and you can paste the text you've copied as many times as you'd like.
To highlight text and copy it
In addition to highlighting text in a web browser, in Office documents, and in the body of email you've received, you can also highlight and copy text from anywhere you're typing—including text messages you're writing, calendar appointments you're editing, a contact card, and your comments on Facebook.
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Tap a word in the text you want to copy.
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Drag the circles at each end of the highlighted text to include the first and last words you want to copy.
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Tap Copy
. -
Open the file, app, or message where you want to paste the text.
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Tap where you want to paste the text.
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In the text suggestion bar above the keyboard, tap Paste
.
To use the menu to copy text
Use the menu to copy text from just about anywhere you can't highlight it, including text messages you've sent or received, headings of email messages, maps, links in the browser, local search results, info already in a contact card, and the People Hub.
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Tap and hold the text you want to copy until the menu appears.
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Tap Copy.
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Open the file, app, or message where you want to paste the text.
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Tap where you want to paste the text.
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In the text suggestion bar above the keyboard, tap Paste
.
Note
When you use the menu to copy text, you can only copy the entire block of text. You can't choose individual parts. For example, when you copy text from a text message, you'll copy all the text, rather than parts of the message.
To paste the same copied text more than once
You can paste text as many times as you want until you copy something else, or until the phone goes to sleep (that is, when the screen goes dark after you haven't used your phone for a while).
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Follow the instructions above to copy and paste some text.
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Tap where you want to paste the text again.
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Tap the Paste
icon or swipe right on the text suggestion bar to bring the icon out.
Tap Paste
.
Notes
- When you copy text with images or special formatting (like bold, italic, lists, etc.), only the text will appear when you paste it, not the images or formatting.
- If you want to copy a picture (from a webpage, for example), tap and hold that picture. You can then either choose to share it through email or a text message, or save it to your phone. For more info, see Save or delete a photo or video.
