Copying and pasting on an Android phone remain an integral function of the operating system. From needing to send out important information or saving a few integral messages, knowing how to copy and paste is quite important.
To copy and paste on an Android phone, follow these steps.
1. Tap and hold on to the editable text.
2. Adjust the handles to select the portion of text you wish to copy.
3. Tap on the portion and select “Copy”.
4. Move to an editable portion and tap on it.
5. After doing so, tap on “Paste”, and your text will be pasted
Surprisingly, though, there’s a lot more to copying and pasting on Android than you might have initially thought. So, here’s a quick look at how you can copy and paste on an Android phone, amongst other gimmicks and tricks.
How To Copy and Paste on Android
Copying and pasting on Android has not undergone any major changes since its debut. Here’s how you can do so on Android.
- Tap and hold on to a particular world.
- Move the handles from the right and left to select the portion of text you wish to copy.
- Tap on the highlighted portion and tap on “Copy”. The text will be copied to your clipboard.
Now that you’ve copied the text, here’s how you can paste it on Android.
- Tap on an editable portion of a window.
- Tap on “Paste”.
Some applications only allow for certain characters to be pasted. For instance, the Phone app does not allow for alphabetic characters. In these cases, the “Paste” function will be greyed out.
How To Copy and Paste Images on Android
Certain applications, primarily text editors like Google Docs or Microsoft Word, allow you to copy and paste images from one document to the other. Here’s how you can do so.
- Tap on the image you wish to copy.
- Tap on “Copy”.
To paste the image, follow the same steps. But, this time, tap on “Paste” instead. This method only works for certain editors. You cannot copy images from the internet and paste them anywhere else. If you wish to use those images, you’ll need to save them to your local gallery and place them wherever you want t.
How To Copy and Paste Codes on Android
OTPs have seemingly become a norm in recent years. With banking applications and almost every website requiring authentication, copying and pasting them manually has become a bit of a hassle.
Thankfully, later versions of Android (9+) let you copy and paste OTP codes or other codes without opening your Messages application. Here’s how.
- Open the Settings application.
- Search for “Autofill” and enable the option.
- Head to Settings and go to Google > “Verification Code Autofill”.
- Turn the slider on.
Now, whenever you open an application that does support Autofill, the blank OTP spot will automatically be populated with the code from the Messages application.
Using the Clipboard To Copy and Paste
You aren’t just limited to a singular function on Android. Instead, Google’s default keyboard, Gboard, has a Clipboard feature that saves multiple copied elements allowing you to paste them in at any time. Here’s how you can use the clipboard.
- Copy a piece of text or link.
- Open your keyboard and tap on the clipboard icon in the toolbar. You’ll now be able to access a list of all the elements you’ve copied in a particular timeframe.
- Tap on any of them, and you’ll be able to paste the element.
If you want to store an element on your clipboard forever, pin it to the clipboard by tapping on the element and the Pin icon above. After an element has been pinned, it will never be removed.
How To Cut and Paste on Android
Cutting and pasting follow the same general premise as copying and pasting. The only difference is that the original element is removed when you cut an element. However, when copying, the original element/piece of the text remains unaffected.
Here’s how you cut and paste on an Android phone.
- Tap on a word and select.
- Move the handles to the precise spot where you wish to cut them.
- Tap on the “Cut” option. The text will now be removed from where it was, but it will be on your clipboard.
You cannot cut elements in places where you do not have permission to edit the text. For example, you can’t cut an element in a webpage. You’ll have to resort to the Copy function instead in those cases.
Conclusion
You need to know everything about copying and pasting on an Android phone! Since the feature is expanding rapidly, we should soon see more utilities coming out of a simple clipboard.
