Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Cut, copy, and paste
open-in-new
<h2 id="history">History</h2> <h3>Origins</h3> <p>The term "cut and paste" comes from the traditional practice in manuscript editing, whereby people cut paragraphs from a page with <a href="/facts/Scissors/tB6JL0Up">scissors</a> and <a href="/facts/Adhesive/shTfIJ0E">paste</a> them onto another page. This practice remained standard into the 1980s. Stationery stores sold "editing scissors" with blades long enough to cut an 8½"-wide page. The advent of <a href="/facts/Photocopier/aF7URdyU">photocopiers</a> made the practice easier and more flexible. </p><p>The act of copying or transferring text from one part of a computer-based document ("<a href="/facts/Data_buffer/tVy4j2Dc">buffer</a>") to a different location within the same or different computer-based document was a part of the earliest on-line computer editors. As soon as computer data entry moved from punch-cards to online files (in the mid/late 1960s) there were "commands" for accomplishing this operation. This mechanism was often used to transfer frequently-used commands or text snippets from additional buffers into the document, as was the case with the <a href="/facts/QED_(text_editor)/hlhhFXTJ">QED</a> text editor.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> </p> <h3>Early methods</h3> <p>The earliest editors (designed for <a href="/facts/Teleprinter/pn5SQKTf">teleprinter</a> terminals) provided <a href="/facts/Computer_keyboard/MczF9LIS">keyboard</a> commands to delineate a contiguous region of text, then delete or move it. Since moving a region of text requires first removing it from its initial location and then inserting it into its new location, various schemes had to be invented to allow for this multi-step process to be specified by the user. Often this was done with a "move" command, but some text editors required that the text be first put into some temporary location for later retrieval/placement. In 1983, the <a href="/facts/Apple_Lisa/PJpJhNRK">Apple Lisa</a> became the first text editing system to call that temporary location "the clipboard". </p><p>Earlier control schemes such as <a href="/facts/NLS_(computer_system)/SCr9PYJF">NLS</a> used a <a href="/facts/Word_order/nXtB9Gm2">verb—object</a> command structure, where the command name was provided first and the object to be copied or moved was second. The inversion from verb—object to object—verb on which copy and paste are based, where the user selects the object to be operated before initiating the operation, was an innovation crucial for the success of the desktop metaphor as it allowed copy and move operations based on <a href="/facts/Direct_manipulation/XvzG3fQq">direct manipulation</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> </p> <h3>Popularization</h3> <p>Inspired by early line and character editors, such as <a href="/facts/Pentti_Kanerva/24XS34G0">Pentti Kanerva's</a> TV-Edit,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> that broke a move or copy operation into two steps—between which the user could invoke a preparatory action such as navigation—<a href="/facts/Larry_Tesler/0N6fCKhH">Lawrence G. "Larry" Tesler</a> proposed the names "cut" and "copy" for the first step and "paste" for the second step. Beginning in 1974, he and colleagues at <a href="/facts/Xerox/qyxVVqaa">Xerox</a> <a href="/facts/PARC_(company)/fh2Su0k9">PARC</a> implemented several text editors that used cut/copy-and-paste commands to move and copy text.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> </p><p><a href="/facts/Apple_Computer/oTJYta3k">Apple Computer</a> popularized this paradigm with its <a href="/facts/Apple_Lisa/PJpJhNRK">Lisa</a> (1983) and <a href="/facts/Apple_Macintosh/8GhnXTK0">Macintosh</a> (1984) operating systems and applications. The functions were mapped to key combinations using the ⌘ <a href="/facts/Command_key/5KCbyreu">Command</a> key as a special <a href="/facts/Modifier_key/uMKHvSHe">modifier</a>, which is held down while also pressing X for cut, C for copy, or V for paste. These few <a href="/facts/Keyboard_shortcuts/mjeb82kI">keyboard shortcuts</a> allow the user to perform all the basic editing operations, and the keys are clustered at the left end of the bottom row of the standard <a href="/facts/QWERTY/0DCjXEa9">QWERTY</a> keyboard. </p><p>These are the standard shortcuts: </p> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Substitute_character/9yHehSB0">Control-Z</a> (or ⌘ Command+Z) to <a href="/facts/Undo/ELQMGH4k">undo</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Control-X/Bk5KHAuB">Control-X</a> (or ⌘ Command+X) to cut</li> <li><a href="/facts/Control-C/ADlBgARW">Control-C</a> (or ⌘ Command+C) to copy</li> <li><a href="/facts/Control-V/Lgo6ETB8">Control-V</a> (or ⌘ Command+V) to paste</li></ul> <p>The <a href="/facts/IBM_Common_User_Access/4qhD1WvG">IBM Common User Access</a> (CUA) standard also uses combinations of the <a href="/facts/Insert_key/ekEayhyG">Insert</a>, <a href="/facts/Del_key/4UzvEgvN">Del</a>, <a href="/facts/Shift_key/d0gXS7Jd">Shift</a> and <a href="/facts/Control_key/31XW606Y">Control keys</a>. Early versions of <a href="/facts/Microsoft_Windows/bwhAhuSL">Windows</a> used the IBM standard. <a href="/facts/Microsoft/nGIDDXdx">Microsoft</a> later also adopted the Apple key combinations with the introduction of <a href="/facts/Microsoft_Windows/bwhAhuSL">Windows</a>, using the <a href="/facts/Control_key/31XW606Y">control key</a> as <a href="/facts/Modifier_key/uMKHvSHe">modifier key</a>. For users migrating to Windows from <a href="/facts/DOS/sWwDXNmX">DOS</a> this was a big change as DOS users used the "<a href="/facts/COPY_(DOS_command)/lC4UI6yN">COPY</a>" and "<a href="/facts/MOVE_(DOS_command)/uh2QlAf2">MOVE</a>" commands. </p><p>Similar patterns of key combinations, later borrowed by others, are widely available in most GUI applications. </p><p>The original cut, copy, and paste workflow, as implemented at PARC, utilizes a unique workflow: With two windows on the same screen, the user could use the mouse to pick a point at which to make an insertion in one window (or a segment of text to replace). Then, by holding shift and selecting the copy source elsewhere on the same screen, the copy would be made as soon as the shift was released. Similarly, holding shift and control would copy and cut (delete) the source. This workflow requires many fewer keystrokes/mouse clicks than the current multi-step workflows, and did not require an explicit copy buffer. It was dropped, one presumes, because the original Apple and IBM GUIs were not high enough density to permit multiple windows, as were the PARC machines, and so multiple simultaneous windows were rarely used. </p> <h2 id="cut-and-paste">Cut and paste</h2> <p>Computer-based editing can involve very frequent use of cut-and-paste operations. Most software-suppliers provide several methods for performing such tasks, and this can involve (for example) key combinations, pulldown menus, pop-up menus, or <a href="/facts/Toolbar/s0DWMF3U">toolbar</a> buttons. </p> <ol><li>The user selects or "highlights" the text or file for moving by some method, typically by <a href="/facts/Drag_and_drop/7Xd8vXfn">dragging</a> over the text or file name with the pointing-device or holding down the <a href="/facts/Shift_key/d0gXS7Jd">Shift key</a> while using the <a href="/facts/Arrow_keys/N3I7nswn">arrow keys</a> to move the <a href="/facts/Cursor_(computers)/bGhgwPSq">text cursor</a>.</li> <li>The user performs a "cut" operation via key combination <a href="/facts/Control_key/31XW606Y">Ctrl</a>+x (<a href="/facts/Command_key/5KCbyreu">⌘</a>+x for <a href="/facts/Mac_(computer)/8GhnXTK0">Macintosh</a> users), menu, or other means.</li> <li>Visibly, "cut" text immediately disappears from its location. "Cut" files typically change color to indicate that they will be moved.</li> <li>Conceptually, the text has now moved to a location often called the <a href="/facts/Clipboard_(software)/CI8zUmP2">clipboard</a>. The clipboard typically remains invisible. On most systems only one clipboard location exists, hence another cut or copy operation overwrites the previously stored information. Many <a href="/facts/Unix/0pNL2seI">UNIX</a> text-editors provide multiple clipboard entries, as do some Macintosh programs such as Clipboard Master,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> and Windows <a href="/facts/Clipboard_manager/jwwbQYcd">clipboard-manager</a> programs such as the one in <a href="/facts/Microsoft_Office/faD8vYG0">Microsoft Office</a>.</li> <li>The user selects a location for insertion by some method, typically by clicking at the desired insertion point.</li> <li>A <i>paste</i> operation takes place which visibly inserts the clipboard text at the insertion point. (The paste operation does not typically destroy the clipboard text: it remains available in the clipboard and the user can insert additional copies at other points).</li></ol> <p>Whereas cut-and-paste often takes place with a mouse-equivalent in Windows-like GUI environments, it may also occur entirely from the keyboard, especially in UNIX <a href="/facts/Text_editor/jPCgtbvN">text editors</a>, such as <a href="/facts/Pico_(text_editor)/udjQMJGY">Pico</a> or <a href="/facts/Vi_(text_editor)/d8G1PkDh">vi</a>. Cutting and pasting without a mouse can involve a selection (for which Ctrl+x is pressed in most graphical systems) or the entire current line, but it may also involve text after the <a href="/facts/Cursor_(computers)/bGhgwPSq">cursor</a> until the end of the line and other more sophisticated operations. </p><p>The clipboard usually stays invisible, because the operations of cutting and pasting, while actually independent, usually take place in quick succession, and the user (usually) needs no assistance in understanding the operation or maintaining mental context. Some application programs provide a means of viewing, or sometimes even editing, the data on the clipboard. </p> <h2 id="copy-and-paste">Copy and paste</h2> <p class="note">"Copy and paste" and "Copy & Paste" redirect here. For the album, see <a href="/facts/Hurricane_Venus/875GUn5l">Hurricane Venus</a>. For other uses, see <a href="/facts/Copy_and_paste_(disambiguation)/hHpnTlrA">copy and paste (disambiguation)</a>.</p> <p>The term "copy-and-paste" refers to the popular, simple method of reproducing <a href="/facts/Character_(computing)/X2zKLFFB">text</a> or other <a href="/facts/Data/AUBFN97o">data</a> from a source to a destination. It differs from cut and paste in that the original source text or data does not get deleted or removed. The popularity of this method stems from its simplicity and the ease with which users can move data between various applications visually – without resorting to <a href="/facts/Disk_storage/hnsXRb5X">permanent storage</a>. </p><p>Use in healthcare documentation and <a href="/facts/Electronic_health_records/0my0rktq">electronic health records</a> are sensitive, with potential for the introduction of <a href="/facts/Medical_error/1RyM0bdK">medical errors</a>, <a href="/facts/Information_overload/MopSX9bN">information overload</a>, and <a href="/facts/Fraud/VyU68aBy">fraud</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Clipboard_(computing)/CI8zUmP2">Clipboard</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Control_key/31XW606Y">Control key</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Copypasta/hmF9RkCF">Copypasta</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Copy_%26_paste_programming/j9GXNpBM">Copy & paste programming</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Copy_Cursor_(FreeKEYB)/3g3kyD9m">Copy Cursor</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Drag_and_drop/7Xd8vXfn">Drag and drop</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Photomontage/4hwt7cTe">Photomontage</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Publishing_Interchange_Language/t1UBeVrG">Publishing Interchange Language</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Simultaneous_editing/xYjuPb69">Simultaneous editing</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/X_Window_selection/1mPMtMIy">X Window selection</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Transposable_element/WbVMhuWR">Transposable element</a> — Cut, copy, and paste in the <a href="/facts/Genome/31Sm08JT">genome</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cut, copy, and paste. <ul><li><a href="http://tronche.com/gui/x/icccm/sec-2.html">2. Peer-to-Peer Communication by Means of Selections</a> in the <a href="/facts/ICCCM/wVdgR67H">ICCCM</a></li> <li><a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/2212877.2212896">A personal history of modeless text editing and cut/copy-paste</a> by Larry Tesler (<a href="http://worrydream.com/refs/Tesler%20-%20A%20Personal%20History%20of%20Modeless%20Text%20Editing%20and%20Cut-Copy-Paste.pdf">pdf</a>)</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Laubach, Lori; Wakefield, Catherine (June 8, 2012). "Cloning and Other Compliance Risks in Electronic Medical Records" (PDF). Moss Adams LLP, MultiCare. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 20, 2014. Retrieved April 23, 2014. <a href="http://hcca-info.org/portals/0/pdfs/resources/conference_handouts/regional_conference/2012/seattle/laubachwakefieldprint2.pdf" target="_blank">http://hcca-info.org/portals/0/pdfs/resources/conference_handouts/regional_conference/2012/seattle/laubachwakefieldprint2.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Deutsch, L. Peter; Lampson, Butler W. (1967), "An online editor", Communications of the ACM, 10 (12): 793–799, 803, doi:10.1145/363848.363863, S2CID 18441825, archived from the original on 2013-05-26, p. 793. <a href="/wiki/L._Peter_Deutsch" target="_blank">/wiki/L._Peter_Deutsch</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Kuhn, Werner (1993). "Metaphors create theories for users". Spatial Information Theory a Theoretical Basis for GIS. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Vol. 716. Springer. pp. 366–376. doi:10.1007/3-540-57207-4_24. ISBN 978-3-540-57207-7. <a href="978-3-540-57207-7" target="_blank">978-3-540-57207-7</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Moggridge, Bill (2007). Designing interactions. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-13474-3. OCLC 70167858. <a href="978-0-262-13474-3" target="_blank">978-0-262-13474-3</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"Bill Moggridge, Designing Interactions, MIT Press 2007, pp. 63–68". Designinginteractions.com. Archived from the original on 2011-11-17. Retrieved 2011-11-25. <a href="http://www.designinginteractions.com/" target="_blank">http://www.designinginteractions.com/</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"Clipboard Master". Clipboard Master 2.0 by In Phase Consulting, July 1994. Retrieved 14 September 2009. <a href="http://forums.info-mac.org/viewtopic.php?f=243&t=14244&sid=739ce1119f88340c52dc2aed3c788fff" target="_blank">http://forums.info-mac.org/viewtopic.php?f=243&t=14244&sid=739ce1119f88340c52dc2aed3c788fff</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Laubach, Lori; Wakefield, Catherine (June 8, 2012). "Cloning and Other Compliance Risks in Electronic Medical Records" (PDF). Moss Adams LLP, MultiCare. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 20, 2014. Retrieved April 23, 2014. <a href="http://hcca-info.org/portals/0/pdfs/resources/conference_handouts/regional_conference/2012/seattle/laubachwakefieldprint2.pdf" target="_blank">http://hcca-info.org/portals/0/pdfs/resources/conference_handouts/regional_conference/2012/seattle/laubachwakefieldprint2.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>"Appropriate Use of the Copy and Paste Functionality in Electronic Health Records" (PDF). American Health Information Management Association. March 17, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 12, 2016. Retrieved April 23, 2014. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160312091551/http://library.ahima.org/xpedio/groups/public/documents/ahima/bok1_050621.pdf" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20160312091551/http://library.ahima.org/xpedio/groups/public/documents/ahima/bok1_050621.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>