Avoid copy and paste problems with PureText

Being able to copy and paste text between programs is normally really useful, but the fact that you don't always know exactly what is being copied can be a problem. A good example of this is copying text from Microsoft Word into a web design program such as Microsoft Expression Web. As well as the text, Word will also offer up lots of formatting commands, which can force you to remove it by hand.

The normal solution is to paste all text in a text editor such as Notepad or the excellent Notepad++ first. That strips out the formatting and the text can then be copied again to paste into the destination program.

PureText is a much simpler solution. It creates a new paste shortcut, Windows and V by default, that will remove all formatting from text as it is pasted.

PureText creates an icon in the Notification Area that can be used to open the options window. This can be used to change the shortcut key and set whether or not you want a sound to play when the text is pasted. There is also an option to start PureText on Windows startup.

Formatting removed from text includes font and relevant styling such as colour and size, bullet points, subscript and superscript, charts and pictures. Characters such as spaces and tabs are left in place; the creator of PureText, Steve Miller, describes it as being just like pasting into Notepad and then copying the text again.

Installation is simple. Open the compressed folder that is downloaded and run it to start PureText. You might want to copy it into a specific folder in your home folder rather than your Desktop.