11th September 2001
You've probably used the clipboard without even realizing it; your entire day is spent cutting and pasting data. Let's say you wanna copy a string of text, and your mouse is out of range. Sure, you could reach over and grab it, but it'd be quicker to... wait a second. It seems your 'C' key is busted, too. Oh no! What are you going to do now? Well, try using CTRL+Insert to copy the stuff instead. Now, ALT+Tab to another open application and paste the... you're not going to believe this. Your 'V' key is acting wonky, too. Never fear! There is a yin to this virtual yang. SHIFT+Insert (in most instances) acts like CTRL+V. So, what if that copied clip happens to be carrying formatted features? Like, various font sizes and colors? Don't do a regular paste operation; look for a "paste special" function somewhere in the Edit menu. For it to be enabled, you must be editing a "rich text" document or e-mail message. Using this alternative pasting operation, the clipboard's contents can be inserted with or without their original formatting.