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In Adobe InDesign, select the content, choose Edit > Cut to move it or Edit > Copy to duplicate it, then activate the right destination and choose Edit > Paste. The destination matters: text goes at an insertion point, table content follows table-specific rules, and Paste Into places a graphic inside a selected path.
Choose the content and destination before pasting
InDesign’s paste behavior depends on what you select and what is active when you paste. For text, use the Type tool to select characters or click in a text frame to set the insertion point. For a frame or other object, use the Selection tool to select the object. For table content, work with the Type tool inside the table and select the cells or text you need.
- If text is selected in a frame, pasted text replaces that selection.
- If an insertion point is active in a text frame, pasted text appears there.
- If no insertion point is active in a frame, pasting text creates a new plain text frame.
These text behaviors are described in Adobe’s Add text to documents in InDesign help, updated 7 August 2026, and its table-content instructions, also updated 7 August 2026.
Cut or copy text and paste it at the destination
- Choose the Type tool and select the text to move or duplicate.
- Choose Edit > Cut to remove the selection for moving, or Edit > Copy to leave the original where it is.
- Click the intended insertion point in the destination text frame. If you want a new frame, make sure no text insertion point is active.
- Choose Edit > Paste.
Cut and Copy change whether the original remains; they do not choose where the pasted content goes. Set the destination first, especially when several text frames are open, so you do not paste into an unintended frame.
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Control whether pasted text keeps its formatting
For text copied from another application, choose how InDesign handles clipboard formatting. The preference path differs by operating system:
- Windows: Edit > Preferences > Clipboard Handling.
- macOS: InDesign > Preferences > Clipboard Handling.
Choose All Information to retain formatting information from the clipboard, or Text Only to remove formatting. For an individual paste, choose Edit > Paste without Formatting. These controls let you choose whether source formatting is carried over; they do not guarantee that formatting from another application will look identical in every InDesign document.
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Adobe documents these options in Add text to documents in InDesign.
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Table cells have their own paste behavior. Select cell text or cells with the Type tool, then use Edit > Cut or Edit > Copy. What happens next depends on the destination selection:
- Place the insertion point in one target cell to paste the copied cells as a nested table inside that cell.
- Select destination cells to replace their contents. Adobe specifies that enough empty cells must be available below and to the right for the pasted cells.
To move or duplicate an entire table, place the insertion point inside it and choose Table > Select > Table. Then cut or copy, click the destination insertion point, and paste. Adobe’s instructions for cutting, copying, and pasting table contents explain these destination-dependent outcomes.
Use Paste Into to clip a graphic inside a shape
Edit > Paste Into is a graphics command, not the normal way to paste text. Select the path that will act as the clipping shape, then choose Edit > Paste Into to place the graphic within that path’s boundary. To reposition the graphic inside the shape, use the Direct Selection tool.
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For the procedure and path behavior, see Adobe’s instructions for applying clipping paths to graphics.
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Move selected text by dragging within one document
For a small move within the same document, you can drag selected text to another insertion point instead of cutting and pasting. First enable drag-and-drop in Type preferences, then select the text and drag it to the destination insertion point.
- To copy rather than move, hold Alt on Windows or Option on macOS.
- To drop the text without its formatting, hold Shift.
Adobe’s instructions specify that you release the mouse before pressing the modifier key. For text from another document or application, Adobe directs users to copy and paste or use Place instead. See Drag and drop text in InDesign.
Look up shortcuts in your active shortcut set
To check the shortcut for Cut, Copy, Paste, or another command in your installation, open Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts and search by command name or shortcut. Inspect the active shortcut set: assignments can depend on the selected set and can be customized. You can create and share a custom set on the same platform. Because the cited Adobe shortcut instructions do not establish a single key combination for every version and set, confirm the command in your own installation before relying on it. See Adobe’s InDesign keyboard shortcuts help, updated 28 July 2026.
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