How to Copy & Paste Computer Files

Creating copies of computer files and information is a common computing task. One of the quickest and easiest ways to produce copies of files or folders on a computer is the copy and paste function. The copy function creates a copy of a file that is saved temporarily and the paste function reproduces that copy in a specified location. There are a couple different ways to use the copy and paste functions to reproduce files.

Instructions

1. Browse your computer for the file that you want to copy.

2. Right click on the file and select "Copy" from the dropdown menu that appears. Alternatively, you can highlight the file by left clicking on it, hold the control key and press the "C" key to copy the file.

3. Browse your computer for the location where you want to create a duplicate of the original file.

4. Right click inside the destination folder and select "Paste" from the dropdown menu. Alternatively you can hold down the control key and then press the "V" key to paste the file. A duplicate version of the original file will appear.

Tips & Warnings

• The copy and paste shortcuts (control+C and control+V) can be used to copy and paste information such as text or photos in web pages or documents.

• If you want to copy a file to an external storage drive, simply drag and drop the file you want to copy into the window of the drive.

References

• Bleeping Computer: How to Cut, Copy and Paste