Copying text and pictures
The ability to cut and paste into text boxes is also a huge timesaver. If the information that you need to
type into a text box is visible just about anywhere on the screen or available someplace where you can
get it to the screen, there’s never any need to retype it. Just select the text that you want to copy into the
text box by dragging the mouse pointer through that text. Then, press Ctrl+C to copy the selected text to
the Windows Clipboard (which is an invisible placeholder for cut and copied text). Then click in the text
box into which you need to type the text, so it gets the blinking cursor, and press Ctrl+V. The text lands
in the text box.
The Ctrl+C (Copy) shortcut, and Ctrl+V (Paste) shortcut are supported universally throughout Windows
and Windows programs. You can use these keys to copy just about anything to just about anything else.
If you’re not sure, don’t be afraid to try it out. You cannot do any harm by trying! The same technique
works for pictures as well. To select a picture, however, you don’t drag the mouse pointer. Instead, you
just click the picture to select it, and then press Ctrl+C. To paste the picture into a graphics program or
word processing document, click at about where you want to place the picture, and then press Ctrl+V.
Often you can even do it without even touching the keyboard. Just drag the mouse pointer through the
text you want to copy, or click the picture you want to copy. Then right-click the selected text or picture
and choose Copy. Then right-click where you want to paste and choose Paste.
Tip If, for whatever reason, you cannot copy a picture on the screen into the Clipboard,
you can always take a snapshot of the screen and paste that into your word
processing document or graphics program. The section titled “Screenshots” in
Chapter 24 explains how.