Most of us know how to copy and paste text on a computer. But when it comes to Android phones, things get tricky as there are no keyboard shortcuts or right-click menus. But don’t worry. Copying and pasting text on Android phones is as easy as ABC. Let’s learn how to do so.
You can copy and paste a text message, link, or any other text on Android. You can even copy unselectable text on Android phones. Let’s show you how.
1. Copy Text on Android in Browser and Other Apps
To copy a text on Android phones, select the text, choose Copy from the menu, and use the Paste button to paste it into the preferred app. Here are the detailed steps to copy text from browsers, chat apps, etc.
Step 1: Long-press on the first word of the text you want to copy to select it.
Step 2: Two selection bubble icons will show up. Drag the either selection bubble to select the text. The selected text will start highlighting. Then, tap on Copy from the pop-up menu. The copied text will be stored in your phone’s clipboard.
On Samsung Galaxy phones, you might see Dictionary and something else in the pop-up menu instead of Copy. Tap on the three-dot icon followed by Copy. You can also tap on Select all followed by Copy to copy all the text shown on the page.
Step 3: To paste the selected text, open the preferred app and hold the finger in the text space. Select Paste from the menu.
Tip: If you use Gboard, you will see the copied text in the top bar of the keyboard. The Gboard app will also extract useful information like number, address, and email ID from the copied text, which you can paste directly without pasting all copied text.
2. Copy and Paste a Text Message on Android
You cannot select text messages on an Android phone using the above method. Follow these instructions to copy text messages on Android phones.
Copy a Text Message in the Google Messages App
Step 1: In the Google Messages app, open the message conversation whose text you want to copy.
Step 2: Press and hold (long-press) the message text and tap on the Copy icon in the top bar to copy the entire message to your phone’s clipboard.
Step 3: Open any app and long-press on the text box. Choose Paste from the menu.
Tip: Press the Clock icon after selecting a message in the Google Messages app to set a reminder for the selected message.
Unfortunately, Google Messages doesn’t let you select only a part of a text message. You can do it manually by copying the entire message first, and then you need to paste it into any app, such as a note-taking app. Once pasted, delete the text you don’t want to keep. Then, copy the remaining part and paste it wherever required.
Tip: You can also forward a message directly in the Messages app on any Android phone instead of copy-pasting it. For that, long-press the message and select Forward. If you don’t see it, tap on the three-dot icon followed by Forward.
Copy a Text Message on Samsung Phones
If you use the Samsung Messages app instead of Google Messages, follow these steps to copy messages on it:
Step 1: Launch the Samsung Messages app on your phone and open the message you want to copy.
Step 2: Long-press on the message. Select Copy text from the menu. The entire message will be copied to your clipboard.
If you want to copy one part of a text message, choose Select text from the menu instead of Copy text. Then, drag the blue selection bubble from each end to keep the part you want to copy. Choose Copy from the pop-up menu.
Tip: If you don’t see Copy in the menu, tap on the three-dot icon followed by Copy.
Step 3: Once the desired message has been copied, open the different message thread or any other app where you want to paste it. Then, long-press in the text box and select Paste from the menu.
Tip: Learn how to use the clipboard on Samsung Galaxy phones.
3. Copy Link Text
To copy the website link from the address bar in browsers like Chrome, Samsung Internet, etc., tap on the address bar and press the Copy icon. That will copy the link to your phone’s clipboard.
To copy other links, long-press on the link and select Copy link address from the menu. If you want to copy the link text, select Copy link text instead. That will only copy the link’s text and not the actual link.
4. Copy Text From Apps That Don’t Allow You to Copy
Sadly, many apps like YouTube, Instagram, etc., don’t allow you to copy text from things like comments, descriptions, etc. Similarly, even some PDFs don’t let you copy text. In such cases, you must take a screenshot and then use Google Photos or Google Lens to copy text from the image.
Tip: Learn how to copy text from web pages that don’t allow copying.
Follow these step-by-step instructions to copy unselectable text on Android phones:
Step 1: Open the app that doesn’t allow you to copy text.
Step 2: Take a screenshot of the screen with the text.
Step 3: Open the pre-installed Google app on your phone.
Step 4: Tap on the Lens icon in the search bar and select the screenshot.
Step 5: Long-press on the text in the screenshot you want to copy. Then, use the selection bubbles to highlight the text you want to select. Finally, tap on Copy in the menu.
Tip: Learn how to use Google Photos to extract text from pictures. Also, check out other ways to copy text from Instagram posts.
Bonus Tip: Copy Unselectable Text on Google Pixel Phones
On Google Pixel phones, you get a special feature to copy text from apps that don’t allow copying, even from images. All you need to do is:
Step 1: Open the desired screen in the app from where you want to copy text. Then, open the Recent Apps screen.
Step 2: Now, long-press the text from the Recent apps and use the selection bar to select the preferred text.
Step 3: Then, tap on Copy from the menu. You can use this feature to copy images or links on Google Pixel phones as well.
Tip: On Samsung Galaxy phones, use Smart Select to copy and extract text.
Sync Android Clipboard
Those were some helpful ways to copy and paste text on Android phones. Before you go, know to share and sync your Android phone’s keyboard with PC. Also, check out the best keyboard apps with a built-in clipboard.
Categories: How to
Source: thpttranhungdao.edu.vn/en/
