How do I copy and paste on a Chromebook computer?

Chromebooks are special laptops designed over ChromeOS that focus on a fast browsing experience. These are gadgets that you can use either as a tablet or as a laptop. The reason being, that they are almost similar to Android but have more functionality. These processing units are found on even Windows laptops, but Chromebooks have unmatched speed and price.

A Chromebook is also equipped with a wide range of accessibility features, such as screen recording, screencasting, and screencasting. Additionally, being a native Chrome component, you can install any Android application you want. Meanwhile, there is a huge difference between Windows and Chromebooks. It appears that people want to know the copy and paste function in Chromebooks. So, let’s discuss it.

How to copy and paste on a Chromebook

On Windows, I agree you have multiple ways to copy and paste, but remember, Chromebooks support touch responses. Additionally, you can copy and paste through that method as well. However, being a newbie, it might take time to understand things, but once you get used to them, the Chromebook functions will be on your tips. Like here, we need to know the different ways to copy and paste. For your information, there are three ways to do this: keyboard shortcuts, the mouse, and the touchpad. So, let’s look at each of them.

Copy and Paste Using the Keyboard Shortcut

Using keyboard shortcuts is the primary way that people usually use them. This is because it is a popular way of getting around, and people are used to it. Here, all you need to know is the key combination to copy and paste. By using keyboard shortcuts, you can copy and paste text by selecting the text using the SHIFT + Right arrow keys, then pressing CTRL + C to copy it and CTRL + V to paste it. 

Copy and paste using the mouse.

The other popular way beginners use it is through the mouse. This seems somewhat stressful for professionals. But we can’t deny it because, after all, this is also a great way to copy and paste. So, to copy any text using the mouse on a Chromebook, simply select the text by holding the left click and dragging horizontally over the text. Then release the left and right clicks and select Copy. Similarly, when you want to paste it, right-click and select the paste option.

Copy and paste using the touchpad.

This thing happens when you don’t use a mouse and are looking for a way to copy and paste on a Chromebook. Although this method is similar to using a mouse, there are a few tweaks. Here, you have to highlight the text you want to copy. Press and hold two fingers on the touchpad, and drag the text to the desired location. When you release the two fingers, the text will be copied. Similarly, to paste, highlight the desired location and press two fingers on the touchpad. The text will be pasted.

I expect you now have different ways to copy and paste on a Chromebook. But there might be some users who wonder what would happen if we copied and pasted an image URL, a webpage URL, or a video URL. Do not worry; below, we will discuss all these things.

Steps to Copy and Paste a File

1. Simply open the Files app. 
2. Find the files you want to copy.
3. Click on the files to select them. 
4. After that, click on the “Copy” button. 
5. Now open the folder where you want to paste the files and click on the “Paste” button.
6. That’s it; you are done.

Alternatively, you can copy and paste a file via Open the two folders that contain the files you want to copy. Drag a file from one folder to the other. The file will be copied to the new folder. The primary way here is to highlight the file you want to copy. Ctrl + C to copy the file. Open the folder where you wish to paste >> Ctrl + V to paste.

Steps to Copy and Paste a Full Web Page

Note: You can copy and paste from other available ways than those mentioned above. The below steps are just a reference to how you can execute to copy and paste a web page.

1. On the webpage, press CTRL+ to select the entire page.
2. To copy that web page, press CTRL + C to copy that web page.
3. Next, click the area where you want to paste and press CTRL + V.
4. That’s it; your webpage will be copied and pasted in this way.

Steps to Copy and Paste an Image, Video, and Web Page URL

Note: Similar to the webpage, here you can apply other available ways to copy and paste on Chromebook.

1. Find the image, video, or web page whose URL you want to copy.
2. Then right-click on it.
3. Now select Copy Image/Video/Webpage URL.
4. Following this, the image, video, or webpage URL will be copied.
5. The next step is to right-click on the area where you want to paste the copied content.
6. Select the paste option from there.
7. That’s it; you are done.

Besides that, you can copy and paste using voice commands too. Just select the copy and say, Hey, Google, copy that, and to paste it, say, Hey, Google, paste that. As a pro tip, you should have a a few helpful keyboard shortcuts that are: 

• Ctrl + Shift + V to paste text without formatting.
• Ctrl + Shift + A to select all text in a document.
• Ctrl + Shift + D to delete all text in a document.
• Ctrl + Shift + Z to undo the last action.
• Ctrl + Shift + Y to redo the last action.

To sum up, copying and pasting is not a big task on a Chromebook. The only issue is that people find it difficult because they think if it is a Chromebook, that means it has some different function. But as we all can see, it has the same function as Windows. Whether you copy and paste a text, image, or video URL, the steps will be the same as in Windows. Now I hope you understand how to copy and paste on your Chromebook. Even after that, if any users have questions, feel free to ask them below.

Frequently Asked Questions