Tech tip: removing text formating

Frequently, when we copy and paste text from one document to another, we copy not only the text but also its accompanying formating (e.g. blog, italics, alignment, table details, font colors, and even proprietary MS formating, etc.). This occurs because the formatting details are put into the clipboard along with the text.

To remove the formatting and just copy and paste the text, there are two basic approaches. The first is to paste the text to a tool like Notepad. Then select and copy the text from Notepad. When you subsequently paste the text, it'll have no previous formatting. The second technique can be used when working with FCKeditor. The interface for FCKeditor provides a nifty set of options for pasting.

The left button allows the text to be pasted as it is in the clipboard.

The middle button allows the formatting to be removed and only the text to be pasted.

The right button allows is specifically designed for pasting text with formatting from MS-Word into the FCKeditor.