Pure Paste lets you paste as plain text by default. It sits in the menu bar and clears formatting (fonts, colors, bold, links, tables, etc.) from the text you copy. However, it does not touch unrelated content like files, images, etc. It also ignores content copied from password managers.
You can also choose to manually clear formatting whenever needed instead of automatically.
Frequently Asked Questions
I have a feature request, bug report, or some feedback
The app does not show up in the menu bar
macOS hides menu bar apps when there is no space left in the menu bar. This is a common problem on MacBooks with a notch. Try quitting some menu bar apps to free up space. If this does not solve it, try quitting Bartender if you have it installed.
You may also have enabled the âHide menu bar iconâ preference, which hides the menu bar icon. Launch the app again to reveal the menu bar item for 5 seconds.
Pure Paste conflicts with my clipboard manager
This is a known issue. Itâs really just a flaw in how the clipboard works. If your clipboard managers reads the clipboard first, it will get it. If Pure Paste then reads the clipboard, it will do its thing, but also tell clipboard managers not to fetch the new contents as otherwise they might end up with duplicates. This is required as otherwise certain features like âfast-appendâ donât work in Alfred and other clipboard managers. Iâm working on a way all apps can collaborate, but it will take some time.
For now, I suggest setting a keyboard shortcut for âClear formatting and pasteâ and then turn off âAutomatically clear formattingâ.
The app clears formatting when it shouldnât or doesnât clear formatting when it should
Let me know. I will fix it quickly, if possible.
There are some cases I cannot fix though:
- The Pages app pastes a table. Pages pastes any text with multiple lines as a table. This is not a problem with Pure Paste and also not something I can fix. You can complain to Apple about the behavior here.
Why not just use the Paste and Match Style menu item or â„â§âV?
- That menu item is not available in all apps.
- The keyboard shortcut is hard to remember and type.
- In some apps, like Chrome, the keyboard shortcut is different.
- This app can exclude certain apps, preserve links, and also remove tracking parameters from URLs.
Why not just remap the Paste and Match Style keyboard shortcut to âV?
- That menu item is not available in all apps.
- In some apps, like Word, the menu item has a diffent label, which requires a separate mapping.
- This app can exclude certain apps, preserve links, and also remove tracking parameters from URLs.
What are tracking parameters and why would I want to remove them?
Removing tracking parameters improve privacy and also make URLs more aesthetically pleasing. Tracking parameters are used by many websites to track your browsing activity across websites. Read more.
Before: https://foo.com?utm_content=buffercf3b2&utm_source=snapchat.com
After: https://foo.com
Tracking parameters are not removed
First, make sure the setting to remove tracking parameters is enabled.
Tracking parameters are not removed if the âAutomatically Clear Formattingâ preference is disabled or you did not manually trigger format clearing.
The app contains a list of tracking parameters to remove, but there may be site-specific tracking parameters it doesnât know about. If you encounter any tracking parameters not being removed, let me know and Iâll add support for them.
Can you add a setting to preserve bold and italic?
In short, no. To preserve bold and italic, the app has to preserve the font too, and by preserving the font, it has to set a font name and size. This means the text will not match the destination formatting. Instead, for example, in Word, you can copy with formatting and select âPaste and Match Formattingâ, which correctly preserves bold and italic while clearing color and sizes.
I have âPreserve linksâ enabled, and when I paste into Word, it ends up with the âTimes New Romanâ font instead of the existing font
This is a bug in Word. Please upvote this report.
As a workaround, you can either disable the âPreserve linksâ setting or use âPaste and Match Formattingâ in the âEditâ menu in Word.
I have âPreserve linksâ enabled, and when I paste into an app, it ends up with the âHelveticaâ font instead of the existing font
This is a bug in macOS.
As a workaround, you can either disable the âPreserve linksâ setting or use âPaste and Match Styleâ in the âEditâ menu of the app.
If you work for Apple or want to help out by duplicating my reports, see:
Excel, Word, and PowerPoint are missing some actions in âPaste Optionsâ
Pure Paste works by modifying the clipboard. Office hides most of the âPaste Optionsâ actions if the clipboard is modified.
The solution is to either:
- Exclude the Office apps in the Pure Paste preferences.
- Turn off âAutomatically Clear Formattingâ and instead set a keyboard shortcut in the preferences. That way the clipboard stays unmodified until you use the keyboard shortcut to clear & paste.
The app does not clear formatting when copy-pasting an image inside Google Docs
Web apps do not follow the standard clipboard conventions that native desktop apps do. When you copy an image in Google Docs, it just puts a bunch of HTML code on the clipboard. Pure Paste cannot easily know itâs an image you copied.
The app does not clear formatting when copy-pasting rich text inside Figma
Web apps do not follow the standard clipboard conventions that native desktop apps do. When you copy some rich text in Figma, it just puts a bunch of HTML code on the clipboard. Pure Paste cannot easily know itâs rich text you copied.
The app does not preserve links when pasting into Google Docs even with the âPreserve linksâ setting enabled
There is a problem with Google Docs where it strips links from rich text content. It happens even without Pure Paste. Web apps are generally bad at following platform conventions.
Does it respect nspasteboard.org conventions?
Yes, it ignores concealed (passwords), transient, and auto-generated content. It also adds the org.nspasteboard.AutoGeneratedType identifier when putting the plain text content on the clipboard.
How can I export, import, sync, or backup the settings?
Why is this free without ads?
I just enjoy making Mac apps. Consider leaving a nice review on the App Store.
Where can I find the changelog?
Go here and click âVersion Historyâ.
Can you localize the app into my language?
I donât have any immediate plans to localize the app.
