Copy Text from the Internet into Word

This tip comes from a newspaper article written by April Miller Cripliver published 12/14/06 in the Times. It will allow you to easily copy only the text without all the html formatting coming along with it from the web by creating a Word macro. There are several steps so just follow them exactly and it will work like a charm.

1. Start Microsoft Word
2. Click Tools/Macro/Macros
3. Type NoFormatPaste in the Macro name box
4. Click the Create button
5. Where the cursor is flashing (it should be above the words End Sub), type the following line exactly Selection.PasteSpecial DataType:=wdPasteText (Note: that there is only one period after the word selection and only one space after the l in special and before the D in DataType
6. Click File/Save Normal
7. Click File/Exit and return to Microsoft Word

The macro is now written, but it is not easy to use so we will assign it to a buttom in our Word Toolbar.

1. Click Tools/Customize
2. Click on the Commands tab
3. On the left side, scroll down to click on Macros. When you click Macros, you will see all the macros in the right pane.
4. In the right pane, click on the macro called Norma.NewMacros.NoFormatPaste
5. Drag the Normal.NewMacros.NoFormatPaste to the top of your screen next to the scissors button. Release your mouse button only when you see a vertical black bar appear to the right of the scissors button.
6. Your Customize box is still open.
7. Click on the Modify Selection button there, and choose Default Style
8. Click the Modify Selection button again
9. Choose Change Button Image, then choose an image (maybe the Smiley button)
10. Click the close button of your Customize box.
11. Next to the scissors, you should see your new image.

Ok, now that everything is set up, how do you use it? Let's give it a try!

1. Start your browser and surf the net until you find a sentence, a paragraph, a page that you want to use (remember copyright regs!).
2. Highlight the passage.
3. Press Crtl-c (remember that is the shortcut for copy) It sends the highlighted items to the computer's memory.
4. Now switch to Word (you may either start it or open it from the task bar if you have minimized it)
5. Normally, you would press Crtl-v (for paste) or click Paste from Word's Menu bar. If you did, you would still get all the web's formatting of this document.
6. Instead, click your smiley face or the button that you created (remember you put it next to the scissors button in the Menu bar).
7. Your selection now comes into Word without any formatting and leaves you to change the font, color, size, whatever you want to do with it.

Now each time you need something copied from the web, all you have to do is the last 7 steps. Your macro will stay there as long as you don't delete it.