Microsoft has officially addressed a long-standing user request by introducing a highly anticipated “Paste Text Only” feature across its OneNote applications for Windows and Mac. This update eliminates the persistent frustration of carrying over unwanted formatting—like fonts, colors, and styles—when copying and pasting content from the web, emails, or other documents into your digital notebooks.

The new feature provides a simple and efficient way to maintain clean, consistent formatting in your notes, significantly improving the overall user experience and productivity for students, professionals, and casual users alike.

Why the “Paste Text Only” Feature Matters

Before this update, pasting content into OneNote often resulted in a messy mix of formats that disrupted the visual consistency of a notebook. Users had to resort to workarounds, such as pasting into a basic text editor like Notepad first to strip formatting, before finally moving the clean text into OneNote. This multi-step process was time-consuming and disrupted workflow.

The new built-in option streamlines this entirely. Now, when you copy formatted text, you can choose to paste it into OneNote as plain, unformatted text that automatically adopts the default style of your current notebook. This is ideal for:

• Research notes from various websites
• Compiling information from multiple sources
• Creating clean, uniform documentation
• Ensuring readability and professional presentation

How to Use the New Pasting Option

Accessing the new feature is straightforward and can be done in two ways:

1. Right-Click Context Menu: After copying text, right-click in any OneNote page and select the “Paste Text Only” option from the context menu (often represented by a clipboard with a “T” icon).
2. Keyboard Shortcut: For power users, Microsoft has implemented a keyboard shortcut for faster access. Use Ctrl + Shift + V on Windows or Cmd + Shift + V on Mac after copying to paste without formatting instantly.

This functionality brings OneNote in line with other major Office applications like Word and Outlook, which have offered similar pasting options for years, creating a more unified and intuitive experience across the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.

A Welcome Update for a Core Productivity Tool

The addition of “Paste Text Only” is a clear response to consistent user feedback and demonstrates Microsoft’s commitment to refining its core productivity tools based on community input. This quality-of-life improvement may seem small, but it removes a significant daily friction point for millions of users, making the process of capturing and organizing information smoother and more efficient than ever before.

The feature is now available to all users with the latest version of OneNote for Windows and Mac.