Everyone who has had to write down huge chunks of text will probably agree that the copy and paste functions are probably two of the best things invented in history, and it’s not only good for copying lengthy lines of text, it’s also quite handy for people who have trouble remembering complex combinations like PIN codes, serial numbers, and the like. It’s such a frequently used function that the first thing that you will probably be asking if this was your first time using a Mac is how to copy and paste on a MacBook.

How to Copy and Paste on a MacBook Using a Keyboard Shortcut

If you’ve been a long-time Windows user and have just recently started using a MacBook, pressing CTRL + C and Control + V for copy and paste respectively is already probably ingrained in your system, so much that you probably tried to use the same combinations to perform copy and paste on your MacBook until you realized that those all-familiar keys are missing.

Don’t panic. While the Control key doesn’t do the same function it does on Windows as it does on Macs, there’s an equally quick way to perform copy and paste on a MacBook and that is by pressing Command + C (⌘ + C) and Command + V (⌘ + V).

It might take you some time to remember the new combination by instinct, though, so if you don’t want to be bothered with constantly pausing and reminding your fingers to use Command instead of the Control key, or if you will be using a Windows-based keyboard that doesn’t have a Command key to begin with, you can remap your MacBook keys so that you can assign a different key for performing copy and paste on your MacBook.

To remap your MacBook keys,

1. Go to the Apple Menu.
2. Open “System Preferences.”
3. Click on “Keyboard.”
4. Select “Shortcuts.”
5. Click on “Modifier Keys.”
6. Go to the “Command” field.
7. Click on the drop-down menu.
8. Select “Control.”
9. Click “OK.”

 

Please note that while remapping your MacBook keys this way will apply the changes to the whole system, there are certain applications where it may not work. To ensure that your preferred keyboard shortcut for copy and paste on your MacBook will also work on your frequently used apps,

1. Go to the Apple Menu.
2. Open “System Preferences.”
3. Click on “Keyboard.”
4. Select “Shortcuts.”
5. Select “App Shortcuts.”
6. Click the “Add” button (the one with the + sign).
7. Select the app or apps for which you want your preferred keyboard shortcuts to be used.
   1. If you can’t find your favorite app on the list, click “Other” then use the “Open” dialog box to search for the app.
   2. If you want your preferred shortcut for copy and paste to apply to all applications, just click on “All Applications.”
8. In the “Menu Title,” type in the command for which you want your shortcut to work (e.g. type “Copy” if you want to assign a keyboard shortcut for copying and “Paste” if you want a keyboard shortcut for pasting things). Please make sure that you write the menu title exactly the same way the command is written on your favorite App’s menu (including capitalization and spaces).
9. Next, go to the “Keyboard Shortcut” field, then press the key combination that you want to use for the keyboard shortcut while you’re in the empty box beside it.
10. Click on “Add.”

 

How to Copy and Paste on a MacBook Using Your Mouse

If you’re not into keyboard shortcuts and prefer to use your mouse for anything that your Mac will allow you to use it for, you can also use your mouse to perform copy and paste on your MacBook, and the great news is, unlike with the keyboard shortcut that the default design of which works a little differently on Macs as it does on Windows, performing copy and paste on a MacBook is exactly the same as you would on a  Windows-based computer.

1. Just highlight the text that you want to copy
2. Right-click on your mouse.
3. Select “Copy.”
4. Go to the place where you want to copy the text.
5. Right-click on your mouse.
6. Select “Paste.”

 

How to Copy and Paste on a MacBook Using Your Trackpad

Aside from using a keyboard shortcut and your mouse, you can also use your trackpad to perform copy and paste on your MacBook.

On Windows-based PCs, you usually do this by highlighting the text that you want to copy, pressing on the lower right corner of your trackpad which is equivalent to performing a right-click with your mouse, then selecting “Paste” from the menu.

On MacBooks, the process is the same except for the middle part  What you need to do is highlight the text that you want to copy, use two fingers to lightly tap around the center of your trackpad to bring up the contextual menu (the popup menu that appears when you initiate a right-click), then selecting “Paste” from there.

Now, go and try to practice them so that you can get used to performing copy and paste on your MacBook before you work on projects that require a lot of copying and pasting.

Good luck!