How to copy and paste code without rich text formatting? [closed]

I used to often find myself coping a piece of code from a website/Word document etc only to discover that when doing Paste I would end up with the desired code plus some extra HTML tags/text, basically extra formatting information.

To get rid of that extra ballast I would paste the text to the Notepad and then copy it again and then paste to the desired destination.

Pretty recently I discovered a simple and free tool for Windows called PureText that allows me to cut the Notepad step. It basically adds an extra keyboard shortcut e.g WinKey + V that will do the Paste action without formatting; just pure text. I find it very handy.

I was wondering what approach would you use yourselves? Are they any better/easier to use tools around?


Just to summarize the available options:

Tools

  • PureText - free tool for Windows
  • Use AutoHotkey and write your own macro as suggested by Dean

Browsers

  • To copy plain text from a browser: Copy As Plain Text or CopyPlainText (suggested by cori) - Firefox extensions
  • To paste without formatting to a browser (Firefox/Chrome at least): CTRL+⇧ Shift+V on Windows/Linux, see below for Mac OS X.

Other

  • Under Mac OS X, you can ⇧ Shift+⌥ Alt+⌘ Command+V to paste with the "current" format (Edit -> Paste and Match Style); or ⌘ Command+⇧ Shift+V to paste without formatting (by Kamafeather)
  • Paste to Notepad (or other text editor), and then copy from Notepad and paste again
  • For single-line text: paste to any non-rich text field (browser URL, textarea, search/find inputs, etc.)

Please feel free to edit/add new items


Just for reference, under Mac OS X, you can use ⌘ Command+⇧ Shift+V to paste without formatting or with the "current" format.

Note: in some apps it's ⌘ Command+⇧ Shift+⌥ Alt+V (see "Edit" Menu → "Paste and Match Style")


I'm a big fan of Autohotkey. I defined a 'paste plain text' macro that works in any application. It runs when I press Ctrl+Shift+V and pastes a plain version of whatever is on the clipboard. The nice thing about Autohotkey: you can code things to work the way you want them to work across all applications.

^+v::
    ; Convert any copied files, HTML, or other formatted text to plain text
    Clipboard = %Clipboard%

    ; Paste by pressing Ctrl+V
    SendInput, ^v
return