Copy, paste and undo

You will copy and paste every day: messages for Claude from this guide into the Claude app, and answers from Claude into other places. It works the same everywhere on the PC.

Select first

Before you can copy words, you must select them, which highlights them in color.

• Drag across the words with the mouse button or touchpad held down.
• Double-click a word to select that word.
• Triple-click (three fast clicks) to select a whole paragraph.
• Press Ctrl + A to select everything in the box or page you are in.

Click anywhere to unselect.

The four shortcuts

• Copy: Ctrl + C. Makes an invisible copy of what is selected. Nothing changes on screen.
• Paste: Ctrl + V. Puts the copy where the blinking line is.
• Cut: Ctrl + X. Like copy, but removes the original. Use it to move words.
• Undo: Ctrl + Z. Takes back the last thing you did. Press it again to go back further. Ctrl + Y redoes it.

The copy lives on the clipboard. It holds one thing at a time. Copying something new replaces it. The clipboard also works for pictures and files.

The same four are in the right-click menu, if you forget the keys. On Windows 11 they appear as small icons at the top of that menu: scissors (cut), two pages (copy), a clipboard (paste).

Practice

1. Select the next word by double-clicking it: Binder
2. Press Ctrl + C.
3. Open Notepad: press Windows, type notepad, press Enter.
4. Press Ctrl + V. The word Binder appears in the note.
5. Type a space, then is a made-up app for tracking your trading card collection and what it's worth.
6. Press Ctrl + Z a few times and watch the words disappear. Press Ctrl + Y to bring them back.
7. Press Ctrl + A, then Ctrl + C. The whole note is now on the clipboard.
8. Close Notepad with the X. If it asks, click Don't save.