Formatting is one of the biggest problems faced by many Microsoft Word users, as many different companies and institutions have their own preferred styles. So when you are working on a document for school or work and you are copying and pasting information to that document from other sources, then you may find that the formatting can quickly become an issue.
Fortunately you can adjust the default paste settings in Microsoft Word 2010 to suit your own needs. There are a number of different settings that you can change, so continue reading below to find where these options reside so that you can begin adjusting them.
Adjust the Paste Settings for Word 2010 Documents
The steps in this article were written using Microsoft Word 2010. These steps may vary slightly for different versions of Microsoft Word.
- Open Microsoft Word 2010.
- Click the File tab at the top-left corner of the window.
- Click Options in the column at the left side of the window.
- Click the Advanced tab at the left side of the Word Options window.
- Scroll down to the Cut, copy, and paste section of the right column. You can then click the drop-down menu to the right of each option that you wish to change. For example, one of the biggest issues that occurs with pasting is the inclusion of unwanted formatting from other programs. You could then click the drop-down menu to the right of Pasting from other programs, and select the Keep text only option. Once you have finished adjusting the various pasting options, click the OK button at the bottom of the window.
The different default settings for pasting that can be adjusted this way include:
- Pasting within the same document
- Pasting between documents
- Pasting between documents when style definitions conflict
- Pasting from other programs
- Insert/paste pictures as
- Keep bullets and numbers when pasting text with Keep text only option
- Show Paste Options button when content is pasted
- Use smart cut and paste
By adjusting each of these options you should be able to achieve the desired behavior in your Word 2010 installation.
Would you prefer to have Microsoft Word save your documents in a different location? You can change the default save folder through the Word Options window as well.
Kermit Matthews is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with more than a decade of experience writing technology guides. He has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Computer Science and has spent much of his professional career in IT management.
He specializes in writing content about iPhones, Android devices, Microsoft Office, and many other popular applications and devices.