The ability to copy and paste content like text, images, URLs, etc. from a source to the desired destination is what makes the lives of millions of people who work on/use smart devices like computers and laptops so much easier. Just imagine the increased hassle of manually typing text and URLs from a source, and if you think about it, we have been using this feature so commonly for years that we now have taken it for granted. Such a simple yet incredibly helpful feature is available on Android as well! In this article, we will discuss how to copy and paste on Android.
How to copy and paste on Android: Common method
Copying and pasting text and other similar content on your Android phone is super easy and efficient! Let us discuss the most common way to copy and paste stuff on Android:
- Launch any preferred web browser on your android phone.
- Go to any website/web page, say Wikipedia.
- Now, Tap and hold on a word in any paragraph of your choice, the selected word/words will be highlighted and have handles at either end of the highlighted text.
- You can drag the handles to select as much text as you would like to copy.
- Once you’re done selecting the text, tap on the copy button from the pop-up toolbar.
- Now, navigate to the app where you would like to paste the copied text, let’s take notes for an example.
- Tap and hold on the blank space where you usually type your text. Shortly, a small toolbar will pop up.
- Adjust the cursor to a desired position for pasting the text finally, tap the paste button from the pop-up toolbar.
An alternative method to paste your copied text (follow the steps mentioned below after step 5):
- Select the text which you would like to substitute with the copied text by tapping and holding down on a word.
- The text will be highlighted and handles will appear on both sides. Adjust these handles so that the whole text (which you would like to replace) is selected.
- Then, tap on the paste button to replace the original text with the copied text.
How to copy and paste images on Android
Yes! You can even copy and paste images from the internet! Although it works fantastically well on most web browsers, you may not be able to copy and paste images from certain websites and apps, mostly due to copyright restrictions. In such a case, a quick screenshot might be the best solution (be sure not to break copyright laws of the app’s country /region). Here are the steps to copy and paste images on Android:
- Launch any web browser of your choice and go to a website/web page with pictures that you would like to copy or simply go to Google images and search for any celebrity, object, animal etc. for their photos.
- Once you find a picture that you would like to copy, tap and hold on that picture.
- A small pop-up toolbar will appear, from this toolbar tap on the copy button.
- Launch any app where you would like to paste the copied image. For example, let’s take MS Word or Google Docs.
- After adjusting the cursor to a desired point, press and hold down on the text field where you would like to paste the image.
- Tap on the paste button from the pop-up toolbar.
Note: Copy-pasting images don’t always work on Android due to copyright restrictions on some websites or limitations of the app (where you want to paste the image).
How to copy and paste links on Android
Similar to the above-mentioned methods for copy-pasting text, we will now discuss the method to copy and paste links. Here’s how to do it:
- Unlock your phone and launch any preferred web browser on your device.
- Go to the website of which you would like to copy the link.
- Once the web page/website has loaded completely, tap on the address bar where you can see the website link.
- Simply tapping on the address tab will select the link for you, so you just need to tap on the copy button from the pop-up toolbar.
- Now, launch the app where you would like to paste the copied link. Suppose the notes app as an example.
- Here, press and hold on the text field where you usually type the text.
- Finally, tap on the paste button from the pop-up toolbar.
How to cut and paste on Android
The cut-and-paste method is quite similar to the above-mentioned copy-pasting method, what’s different about it is that the content you “cut” is quite literally cut (removed) to be pasted somewhere else. Obviously, this method is not applicable to almost all websites and apps, but is quite useful to move around text when you are creating something/working with text. Here’s how to do it:
- Suppose you are writing an essay, email, etc. Press and hold on any word you would like to cut.
- Once the text is selected (the text will be highlighted and two handles will appear on either side), tap on the cut button form the pop-up toolbar.
- Now, open any document, email, essay where you would like to paste the text that was cut.
- After adjusting the cursor to a desirable position, press and hold on the text field (where you usually type).
- A small toolbar will be will appear, tap on the paste button from this toolbar.
An alternative method to paste your cut text (follow the steps mentioned below after step 3):
- First, select the text which you would like to substitute with the text that was cut.
- Adjust the handles so that the whole text which you would like to substitute is selected.
- Finally, tap on the paste button to replace the original text with the text that you had previously cut.