When you copy text from another source and paste it into Microsoft Word, you might find that it doesn’t quite match up with the other text in your document. That’s because, by default, Microsoft Word pastes text with the format of the source document. Fortunately, there’s a quick and easy way to remove the background formatting from your pasted text.
Below, you will find several ways to get rid of the gray background from the copied text in MS Word.
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Method 1: Use the “Paste Options” Button
This is an easy and quick way to remove the gray background while pasting copied text in Microsoft Word for Windows. Keep Text Only also removes pictures and table structure, so use it when you need the words without the original layout. Here are the steps you need to follow:
1. Copy the preferred text. Open the MS Word document where you want to add the copied text.
2. Now press “CTRL+V” to paste the text.
3. After pasting the text, you will see a smart tag icon appear at the end of the pasted content. Tap on it to expand the “Paste Options” feature.
4. Select the option titled “Keep Text Only” (T). If the Paste Options button does not appear, open the arrow under Home > Paste and choose Keep Text Only there.
That’s it; your content should be pasted without the background formatting.
Method 2: Use Clear Formatting Feature
If the first method does not do the trick, try clearing the copied text styling. This returns text to its default formatting, but it is not the same as pasting plain text and should not be relied on to remove every gray background. Here are the steps you need to follow:
1. Copy the text from the web page or document.
2. Now open your MS Word document and paste the text using “CTRL+V”.
3. After pasting the content, select the text with the mouse. On the Home tab, click Clear All Formatting in the Font group, shown as an A with an eraser in the screenshot below.
If the gray remains, select the affected text and open Home > Text Highlight Color > No Color. For a shaded word or paragraph, use the Shading menu in the Paragraph group and choose No Color instead. If the background fills a table cell, select the cell and use Table Design > Shading > No Color. These controls let you remove the background without clearing the font styling you want to keep.
A gray area around a field can also be an on-screen display aid rather than copied background color. Check Print Preview before stripping the content. Field shading is separate from text highlighting, and pasting a field as plain text removes its ability to update.
Clear All Formatting can still be useful for unwanted bold, italics, font color, and other copied styling, but choose the background control that matches the problem.
Method 3: Copy the text into Notepad before pasting
Another easy option is to open Notepad on your Windows computer and paste your text into that. Then you can copy the text from Notepad and paste it into Microsoft Word. Newer Notepad versions support Markdown formatting; if a formatting toolbar is present, use Clear formatting before copying the text back. This plain-text approach removes source backgrounds and styling. This trick is handy when the text comes from a website, since web pages often carry hidden styling that follows the copied words.
Conclusion
There you go- now you know how to remove the gray background from the copied text in your Microsoft Word document using three different methods. Give each one a go and stick with whichever fits your workflow.