Copy and paste text

Last updated on Nov 10, 2026

Learn how to repurpose your content by copying and pasting text from any source file or another Photoshop document.

Copy and paste text from any source file

Copy the text from a source file, such as Word, PDF, or a web page.

Select the Horizontal Type tool or Vertical Type tool, then select the text frame where you want to paste the copied text.

Select Edit > Paste (Command + V (macOS) or Ctrl + V (Windows)).

Copy and paste text from another Photoshop file

Open the source file.

Select the Horizontal Type tool or Vertical Type tool, then select the text layer from the Layers panel.

Select Edit > Copy (Command + C (macOS) or Ctrl + C (Windows)).

Open the destination file where you want to paste the copied text layer.

Select Edit > Paste (Command + V (macOS) or Ctrl + V (Windows)).

Copy text formatting and paste it onto other text

Use Paste Text Attributes to apply the formatting of one piece of text, such as font, size, color, and spacing, to other text without replacing the words themselves.

Select the Horizontal Type   tool or Vertical Type   tool, then highlight the text that has the formatting you want to copy. 

Select Edit > Copy, or Command + C (macOS) or Ctrl + C (Windows).

Create a new text layer and enter the text you want to format.

Highlight the text you want to format. 

Select Edit > Paste Special, and then Paste Text Attributes or Option + Command + V (macOS) and Alt + Ctrl + V (Windows). You can also right-click the highlighted text and select Paste Text Attributes.

Tip

You can also copy formatting from Dynamic Text   and paste it onto regular text layers.