This week's top tips

Time-saving text-pasting tips  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ​ I copy-paste a lot of text on my Windows PC. There's a good chance you do, too. But that text often comes with extra formatting. And, if you copy-paste text from a few different places into an email in Gmail or a document in Microsoft Word, it can get very messy. Now you look unprofessional unless you spend time cleaning up the formatting. But there's a better way. It works almost anywhere, and I've got some advice for the places it doesn't work. ⌚ This entire email will take you two minutes to read. Remember: If you'd rather not receive these Monday tip roundups, [you can easily opt out of them](=) without affecting the rest of your subscription. ✅ [Got it — don't show this again](=)​ #top This week's reader suggestion 📋 Whenever you copy text, Windows will copy the formatting of that text to your clipboard. So when you paste it, you'll end up with different fonts, colors, and whatever else. Now you're either spending time cleaning up the formatting, or you're sending a weird-looking email with a lot of different fonts. But there's a better way to paste. 💻 This works on both Windows 10 and Windows 11. ➜ Windows Intelligence reader Dave T. highlighted the Ctrl+Shift+V shortcut as something he uses all day. It's something I use all the time, too. To paste text without formatting causing a problem, press Ctrl+Shift+V. This normally functions as a "Paste as Plain Text" shortcut. In other words, unlike the standard Ctrl+V shortcut, it pastes the text without special formatting, so you don't have to spend any time cleaning it up. The Ctrl+Shift+V shortcut "just works" in most applications on your system, including web browsers like Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. One place it doesn't seem to work is Microsoft Word. Microsoft [announced](=) it was adding this shortcut to Word back in March, but this hasn't happened in Word on my PC just yet. If you can't use Ctrl+Shift+V in Word on your PC, you can enable this shortcut in Word manually, though it'll take some digging: - In Word, click File > Options. Click the "Customize Ribbon" option in the left pane. - At the bottom of the window, click "Customize" to the right of "Keyboard shortcuts." - In the left pane, select "All Commands." In the right pane, select "PasteTextOnly". (You can click the list and start typing the name of the option to quickly scroll to it.) - Click the "Press new shortcut key" box and then press "Ctrl+Shift+V". - Click "Assign," and then click "Close." Wow! Microsoft really did put that one off the beaten path. No wonder Windows needs an AI to help us find settings. One more bonus tip: The [Microsoft PowerToys]() package I keep recommending has a "Paste as Plain Text" tool built in. If you install it, you'll get a "[Paste as Plain Text]()" keyboard shortcut that works in any application on your system. It works by removing the formatting from your clipboard and then pasting normally when you press the shortcut. By default, after installing PowerToys, you can press Windows+Ctrl+Alt+V to use the Paste as Plain Text PowerToy. That's a lot! But the core tip is simple: Ctrl+Shift+V functions as Paste as Plain Text in most applications, and it should even work in Microsoft Word without any extra tweaking soon. It can save you a lot of time. 🖼️ Looking for this week's Android Intelligence reader tip? It's all about a fuss-free alternative to Google Photos — also made by Google. [Read it here](! 💡 Got an exceptional tip you'd like to share with other Windows enthusiasts? [Submit it here]( — or just reply to this email and share it with me! Your advice may be featured in a future newsletter. --------------------------------------------------------------- Some tips you don't want to miss Now, a rapid-fire summary of the best useful tips from our most recent issues — just in case you overlooked something or haven't explored it yet! ⌨️ Learn these magic text-editing shortcuts: Some critical text-editing shortcuts can speed up your typing on Windows. The Ctrl key is the big one: Ctrl is a modifier that makes other keys work with entire words. So, if you press Ctrl+Backspace, you'll backspace an entire word. If you press Ctrl+Left Arrow, you'll go back an entire word each time you tap the arrow key. You can combine it with the Shift key for even more editing speed. [Read my guide for all the details](. 🤖 Get Copilot and other new features on Windows 11: The latest update with Copilot is now available on Windows 11, but only in preview form. To get it, head to Settings > Windows Update on Windows 11, enable "Get the latest updates as soon as they're available," and check for updates. Windows Update will do the rest. (Note: Copilot isn't available everywhere just yet, Microsoft says "The initial markets for the Copilot in Windows preview include North America and parts of Asia and South America.") 🔟 Activate a Copilot-like experience on Windows 10: You can get a Copilot-like experience on Windows 10, if you like. To do so, open the Microsoft Edge browser, and then click that big Bing Chat icon on the toolbar. At the bottom-right corner of the sidebar, click the little "Detach from Edge" button that looks like a box with an arrow coming out of it. You'll get a Bing Chat sidebar on your desktop. While using it, click the pin icon at the top of the chat pane to keep it on your screen. 🧑‍💻 Hire the top 3% of freelancers in the world: Put down that stack of resumes and listen up! When companies like KraftHeinz, Shopify, and Duolingo need independent contractors, they skip the hiring headaches and instead [use Toptal](), the firm that works on your behalf to find the best freelancer for your project needs, in 48 hours. And if this wunderkind doesn’t work out, Toptal will replace them with someone who does, free of charge. [Try Toptal today]() and take your team into the stratosphere!🤯 [SPONSORED] 🕒 Boost your time zone intelligence: A spiffy website called [Time Zone Converter]( is the best tool JR's ever found for converting time zones on the fly. You just put in the names of any locations you want, then move a little slider on the screen to see what time it'll be in each place at whatever moment you want. No downloads, no data sharing, no hassles whatsoever. Yes, please! 👷‍♀️ Unearth some useful new Quick Settings shortcuts: Google's quietly added all sorts of interesting options into Android's Quick Settings area as of late, but you'd never know it if you didn't go out of your way to dig 'em up. [This guide will help you uncover 'em all](=) (and though the page is framed primarily around Pixels, almost everything there will work on any Android device — as you'll see throughout the article!). 💡 Give yourself a nifty new screen control shortcut: Speaking of expanding your Quick Settings options, a handy app called [Wakey]( will let you add an on-demand tile for keeping your Android device's display on indefinitely anytime you don't want your standard screen time-out to apply. It's simple, privacy-respecting, and free to use (with an optional $2 upgrade). What could motivate a 24-year-old to punch a 78-year-old in the face? They both wanted the last free sample at the grocery store. OK, what is it about F-R-E-E that makes us go absolutely C-R-A-Z-Y? This [3-minute YouTube video from The Hustle](=) aims to find out, and in the process covers topics like how free trials trick our brains and why consumers don’t want to pay for online content. [You can finish the video on free stuff right here](=) and subscribe for (you guessed it) FREE to The Hustle’s YouTube channel! [SPONSORED] =​ --------------------------------------------------------------- What did you think? Was this email worth your time? Did you enjoy reading it? [Thumbs Up]( [Thumbs Down]() Hit the thumbs-up or thumbs-down above to let me know what you think. Thanks as always for reading, and I hope you have an awesome week! You received this email because your address was signed up for the Windows Intelligence early preview. If you didn't mean to sign up or no longer wish to be subscribed, you can [unsubscribe or update your preferences here](=).