You need to change the paste special

[MyHandsy]

I am (somewhat) sure someone within Microsoft is concerned about the
usability of Office. In particular, I am referring to the Word component. As
it turns out, Word is quite bad at making specially formatted items look
normal, and it is almost never the case that I even wanted it to try.

So, why do you people think it's OK to bury the "past special" option? In
order to paste something as simply text, I have to get it into the clipboard
and then go back to word (keystroke) select the past menu (mouse movement and
click) select paste special (mouse movement and click) select "unformatted
text" (mouse movement and click) then click "ok" (mouse movement and click).
Not acceptable. I am surprised you haven't been sued for causing CTDs for
this feature alone. Four mouse movements, four clicks, and a keystroke is
very bad for something that is routinely used.

On the bright side, it is far faster for me to open notepad (mouse movement
and click), paste (keystroke) select all (keystroke) and copy (keystroke),
and go back to Word and paste (keystroke). One mouse movement and four
(consecutive) keystrokes... hundreds of dollars for the office suite and I
have to rely on notepad to launder my clipboard items?

Whatever data you've collected suggesting that it's better to make it
difficult to paste just the text is just wrong. There is absolutely no excuse
for a "paste as plain text" option to be missing from the context menu in
Word. If there is a religious war going on inside Microsoft preventing this
from happening, please fire a lot of people.

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[Jay Freedman]

Since you didn't say, I'll guess you're using either Word 2003 or Word 2007.

Something like the improvement you suggest is already available in Word
2007: Go to Office button > Word Options > Advanced, scroll down to the
"Cut, copy, and paste" section, and set the four pasting options as you
want. In each dropdown, one of the choices is "Keep text only", which causes
Word to paste unformatted text. The other paste types are still available
through Paste Special when you need them.

In the same option group, regardless of how you set the default paste type,
you can check the option "Show Paste Options buttons" (this is also
available in Word 2003 at Tools > Options > Edit). When this is checked,
whenever you paste you'll see a small square with the clipboard icon
floating near the pasted text. Clicking the icon displays a menu to choose
the paste type, which will change the formatting of the text you just
pasted. With this, you're down to these actions: copy to the clipboard,
switch to Word, paste (Ctrl+V), click the Paste Option button, and either
click or press the T key for the underlined letter to select Keep Text Only.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[Peter T. Daniels]

No one here is "within Microsoft."

You don't bother to say what version of Word you use, but you can
simply add the "Paste Unformatted" command as a button on your QAT
(Word2007) or on whichever toolbar(s) you choose (Word2003), using the
Customize procedure.

 

[MyHandsy]

Ahhh... I love how people focus on me or my particular situation and not the
essence of my point. This tendency is truly the source of endless hours of
forum entertainment!

My point is this:
I sometimes want to post with formatting (like a table from excel), but
usually not. The formatting option is easy, the non-formatting option is not
and it needs to be. Therefore, setting a permanent option deep within the
bowels of Word misses the point of what I am trying to suggest.

I want/need the option to be on-the-fly... as in the case with products like
"Thunderbird." Adding a context menu item is not hard, and the current
context menu isn't very large, so there is literally no reason it could not
be added. It would look fine and would appease many people. Those who don't
care could happily ignore it (and proceed to insert all the clip-art they
want, since people who paste with formatting all the time are just those
kinds of people).

In point of fact; I am referring to Outlook 2007 actually but, since it's
using word for the editor, Outlook is not the right product to criticize (at
least not for this part).

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Actually Outlook (AIUI) does not use Word as its editor but rather a clone
of Word operating fully freestanding, so your suggestion (if you want the
feature primarily for Outlook) really should be posted in an Outlook forum.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[Stefan Blom]

To paste as "Unformatted Text" in Word 2007, click Home tab | Paste | Paste
Special, choose "Unformatted Text" and click OK. Or you can use the
following macro:

Sub PasteUnformatted()
On Error Resume Next
Selection.PasteSpecial DataType:=wdPasteText
End Sub

Attach it to a button and/or assign a keyboard shortcut to it.

For more, see http://www.gmayor.com/installing_macro.htm.

 

[Peter T. Daniels]

Maybe your difficulty is in understanding simple English.

PUT THE PASTE SPECIAL UNFORMATTED BUTTON ON YOUR QAT. (In Word. No
idea what to do in Outlook, but you asked in a Word forum.)

 

[Graham Mayor]

It is not possible to cater for the individual whims of every user, so one
of the good things about Word is that it is easily customised to suit
individual user preferences. Even with Word 2007 is is not that difficult to
add a command to the ribbon, so if you want particular paste commands there,
you can have them. Similarly you can add items of your choice to the right
context button, or even simpler, you can add commands to the QAT (Quick
Access Toolbar) as suggested by Peter.

See http://gregmaxey.mvps.org/Customize_Ribbon.htm and
http://gregmaxey.mvps.org/Customize_Word2007_SC_Menu_Programatically.htm

However as this is a question referring to the Outlook editor which is not
Word and which uses different vba procedures, you would be better asking
your question about programming the editor in an Outlook forum.

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP


<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

 

[Stefan Blom]

Name the macro EditPaste() if you want to override the normal paste
operation in Word, and be sure to save it in normal.dotm (or in an add-in).

 

[MyHandsy]

LOL! Not that you think your advice is the most supreme, exceptional, perfect
advice ever granted to another human in all of history or anything. Maybe I
don't want to screw with the QAT... maybe the right place for this feature is
next to where the other paste option is. just maybe.

 

[MyHandsy]

Yes it is; But then the UI would be unusable because it would be nothing but
buttons and useless crap that no one needs (a state which Word is approaching
already without incorporating all the whims in the universe)

I think adding a simple "paste without formatting" context menu item is far
from exotic, as evidenced by several other applications which deploy it in
that way.

Peter Daniels (you know, the "nice and helpful" one who didn't take my post
to a personal level at all) noted that "No one here is 'within Microsoft.'"
If this is true (not likely) then the users of this forum have done a
remarkable job emulating Microsoft's general stance on their products; "Our
products are perfect. Let us help you understand why your desires are
inadequate."

All I suggested was that microsoft add a simple context menu item. That's
really all I am suggesting. I added some verbal flare because I love how
fanboys on forums like this get all wound up over nothing... seriously; thank
you all for much laughter!

 

[MyHandsy]

Ahhh, quite the nice dodge!

But, NOT SO FAST! If word changes, then the clone will eventually change
too. Therefore, this is the right place to suggest it.

 

[MyHandsy]

Thanks Stefan. Not so much for your suggestion, but for being a decent human
being when suggesting it. That is truly a breath of fresh air!

I am sure what you write will work, but I think a more "core" solution is
appropriate for (what I call) "the real problem"; that it is too hard in the
UI to paste without formatting.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

to a personal level at all) noted that "No one here is 'within

Microsoft.'"
If this is true (not likely)

It is true. In the very rare instances when a MS employee posts here, you
will see "[MSFT]" after the posting name. These NGs are provided by MS for
peer-to-peer support, and everyone who posts here is a volunteer, not a MS
employee.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[Beth Melton]

Does the Paste Options button and "Keep text only" not work for you? This is
what I use for stripping the formats.

Additionally, in Office 2010 (including Outlook) if you click the arrow
below Paste you'll see same options as you do when using the Paste Options
button (they're on the shortcut menus too). That way you can select "Keep
text only" as you are pasting.

~Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

 

[MyHandsy]

Well, since you seem to want to pursue the point, what you've written is a
contradiction. You've admitted that in "very rare instances" MS employees do,
in fact, post here. Yet the next sentence asserts that "everyone" who posts
here is not an MS employee. Which is it? Sometimes, or never? Logic dictates
that it can't be both.

I am merely stating that I don't believe this forum is free from MS official
comment, which you have agreed with. Practically speaking, the general tone
of the responses is what I would expect from a Microsoft representative
because they've been consistent with the "we're right, the user is wrong"
posture Microsoft seems to take in general. Thus, employee or not, it looks
like a duck and sounds like a duck...

to a personal level at all) noted that "No one here is 'within
Microsoft.'"
If this is true (not likely)

It is true. In the very rare instances when a MS employee posts here, you
will see "[MSFT]" after the posting name. These NGs are provided by MS for
peer-to-peer support, and everyone who posts here is a volunteer, not a MS
employee.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

Yes it is; But then the UI would be unusable because it would be nothing
but
buttons and useless crap that no one needs (a state which Word is
approaching
already without incorporating all the whims in the universe)

I think adding a simple "paste without formatting" context menu item is
far
from exotic, as evidenced by several other applications which deploy it in
that way.

Peter Daniels (you know, the "nice and helpful" one who didn't take my
post
to a personal level at all) noted that "No one here is 'within
Microsoft.'"
If this is true (not likely) then the users of this forum have done a
remarkable job emulating Microsoft's general stance on their products;
"Our
products are perfect. Let us help you understand why your desires are
inadequate."

All I suggested was that microsoft add a simple context menu item. That's
really all I am suggesting. I added some verbal flare because I love how
fanboys on forums like this get all wound up over nothing... seriously;
thank
you all for much laughter!

 

[MyHandsy]

Thanks Beth.

Others have suggested this. I understand there are ways to permanently
disable formatted pasting (which I don't want to do) and macros/QAT things I
can do to expose the options. This is no mystery to me. I simply want
"pasting without formatting" to be in a context (right click) menu next to
"past with formatting." Other applications do this and it is remarkably
useful.

The dozens of other words in my original post which don't convey this simple
suggestion were designed to 1) vent a little, and 2) get the fanboys wound up
because that's usually pretty funny.

I acheived both goals .

 

[Peter T. Daniels]

Yes it is; But then the UI would be unusable because it would be nothing but
buttons and useless crap that no one needs (a state which Word is approaching
already without incorporating all the whims in the universe)

I think adding a simple "paste without formatting" context menu item is far
from exotic, as evidenced by several other applications which deploy it in
that way.

Peter Daniels (you know, the "nice and helpful" one who didn't take my post
to a personal level at all) noted that "No one here is 'within Microsoft.'"
If this is true (not likely) then the users of this forum have done a
remarkable job emulating Microsoft's general stance on their products; "Our
products are perfect. Let us help you understand why your desires are
inadequate."

You have apparently read approximately zero of the postings here.

All I suggested was that microsoft add a simple context menu item. That's
really all I am suggesting. I added some verbal flare because I love how
fanboys on forums like this get all wound up over nothing... seriously; thank
you all for much laughter!

Are you twelve yet? If you're only eleven, then you're precocious. If
you're an adult, get a life.

 

[Peter T. Daniels]

Well, since you seem to want to pursue the point, what you've written is a
contradiction. You've admitted that in "very rare instances" MS employeesdo,
in fact, post here. Yet the next sentence asserts that "everyone" who posts
here is not an MS employee. Which is it? Sometimes, or never? Logic dictates
that it can't be both.

I am merely stating that I don't believe this forum is free from MS official
comment, which you have agreed with. Practically speaking, the general tone
of the responses is what I would expect from a Microsoft representative
because they've been consistent with the "we're right, the user is wrong"
posture Microsoft seems to take in general. Thus, employee or not, it looks
like a duck and sounds like a duck...

IN THIS PARTICULAR INSTANCE, which is clearly the only one you've ever
looked at, we are right and you are wrong.

It is true. In the very rare instances when a MS employee posts here, you
will see "[MSFT]" after the posting name. These NGs are provided by MS for
peer-to-peer support, and everyone who posts here is a volunteer, not aMS
employee.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

- Show quoted text -

 

[Gordon Bentley-Mix on news.microsoft.com]

Point 1: WARNING! Don't feed the trolls! (Although if you're going to do it,
do it well - which you have. ;-P)

Point 2: Suzanne is nearly right; most of the people who post here do not
work for MSFT, and if a Softie does post, you'll see [MSFT] after their name.
In addition, I'm pretty sure almost nobody from MSFT apart from the
SPAM-fighters ever read these posts. However, some of us do have the ability
to provide feedback to MSFT, so maybe your efforts won't be entirely wasted.

Point 3: In spite of the somewhat abrasive and aggressive tone of your post
(which I certainly understand and can almost agree with), the point you make
about how hard it is to do something simple like pasting unformatted text is
a good one. I constantly struggle with the way this process is handled in
Word, and although there are workarounds, I think it would be a great idea if
"Paste Special" were available on the context menu. At the very least, it
would be most helpful if the context menu could be customised to some degree
so that some of the more commonly used actions - like "Paste Special" amongst
others - could be added to it for those users who would like it there.
Unfortunately, I'm not one of those who has the ear of MSFT, so there's
probably not much I can do to help make this happen.
--
Cheers!

Gordon Bentley-Mix
Word MVP

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