CopyBufferWhat macOS does on its own
- Paste and Match Style. Apple's apps and many others have Edit ▸ Paste and Match Style, usually ⌥⇧⌘V. The text takes on the style of the place you paste it into.
- The app's own shortcut. Some apps use a different key. In Google Docs, for example, it is ⌘⇧V.
- One shortcut for every app. In System Settings ▸ Keyboard ▸ Keyboard Shortcuts ▸ App Shortcuts, add a shortcut for All Applications with the menu title
Paste and Match Styleand the key ⌘V. From then on ⌘V pastes plain text in every app that has a menu item with exactly that name. - Through TextEdit. Paste into a TextEdit document set to Format ▸ Make Plain Text (⇧⌘T), then copy it again.
The catch: the menu command doesn't exist in every app (many Electron and Java apps, some terminals and web forms), the menu title must match your macOS language for the shortcut trick, and the TextEdit detour costs a few seconds every time.
Paste plain text anywhere with CopyBuffer
- ⌥⇧⌘V in any app (Paste as plain text in the menu bar menu) pastes what is on the clipboard now as plain text. One second later the clipboard goes back to the original, formatting included, so a normal ⌘V still pastes the rich version.
- ⌘⇧V then ↩ pastes from the history list, and text pasted from the list is always plain. This is the quickest way when the thing you want isn't the latest copy.
- ⌘T in the list opens paste transforms when you also want to clean the text up: tidy spaces and blank lines, join lines into one, pretty-print or minify JSON, strip tracking parameters from a URL, change case, and more.
| You want | Press |
|---|---|
| The current clipboard, plain | ⌥⇧⌘V |
| An older copy, plain | ⌘⇧V, search, ↩ |
| Plain and cleaned up | ⌘⇧V, pick, ⌘T |
| A file's path instead of the file | ⌘⇧V, pick, ⌥↩ |
Limits
- Plain text means plain: links, bold and lists become text. If you want to keep a link, paste normally with ⌘V.
- CopyBuffer uses ⌘⇧V for its panel and ⌥⇧⌘V for plain paste in every app, so those keys no longer reach the app itself. In Google Docs, ⌘⇧V then ↩ gives the same result as its own plain paste.
- Pasting for you needs Accessibility permission. Without it, CopyBuffer copies the plain text to the clipboard and you press ⌘V yourself.
- After the 7-day free trial, plain paste and the history list ask you to buy a license. Recording and the password vault keep working.
FAQ
What is the difference between ⌥⇧⌘V and ⌘⇧V in CopyBuffer?
⌥⇧⌘V pastes the current clipboard as plain text right away. ⌘⇧V opens the history list so you can pick any earlier copy, which is also pasted as plain text.
Does plain paste change what is on my clipboard?
Only for a moment. CopyBuffer puts the plain text on the clipboard, pastes it, and restores the original contents one second later.
Can I make ⌘V always paste without formatting?
Yes, for apps that have a Paste and Match Style menu item: add an App Shortcut for All Applications in System Settings ▸ Keyboard with that exact menu title and the key ⌘V. For apps without the menu item, use CopyBuffer's ⌥⇧⌘V.