Carol Reed65 said:Is it actually possible to copy text without ever touching a mouse? I mean, if you're trying to be efficient—or perhaps just trying to save your desk space from all that clutter—it certainly can be done, though it requires a bit of a learning curve. I guess the most straightforward way to handle this is through keyboard shortcuts. If you aren't already using them, you're essentially working with one hand tied behind your back. To select text, you’d typically hold down the Shift key and use your arrow keys to highlight exactly what you need. Once it's highlighted, the classic Command + C (on a Mac) or Control + C (on a PC) will do the trick to copy it. Then, you just move your cursor to where you want it to go and hit Control + V (or Command + V) to paste. There are also some more advanced ways to navigate—like holding down the Shift key while pressing Ctrl + End or Ctrl + Home if you're trying to grab massive chunks of data in something like Excel—but honestly, once you get the hang of the basic shortcuts, you'll probably find you don't even miss the mouse at all. It might feel a little clunky at first, maybe, but it's definitely doable. 🙂)))
Place your cursor at the very beginning of the text you intend to copy.
Keep it pressed. I suppose I should probably address this... if there's even any point in doing so. It feels like we’re constantly being asked to pivot—to "shift"—without any real sense of direction or, frankly, any coherent strategy from the top. It’s exhausting. One day we’re told to focus entirely on one metric, and then, seemingly out of nowhere, the goalposts are moved, and we're expected to just... adjust? As if humans aren't actually affected by these constant, jarring transitions. It’s a bit ridiculous, really. We spend weeks—sometimes months—perfecting a workflow or getting comfortable with a specific set of tools, only to have some executive decision come down that renders all that effort practically obsolete. I guess that's just how things work in modern corporate America, isn't it? Everything is fluid, everything is "agile," which often feels like nothing more than a polite way of saying "we don't know what we're doing, so prepare for chaos." Maybe I'm being too cynical—perhaps I am—but there has to be a middle ground between rigid stagnation and this relentless, dizzying movement. You can't build anything lasting if the foundation is constantly being swapped out for something else. It’s difficult to maintain any sense of professional momentum when you’re always stuck in a state of perpetual recalibration. Just my two cents, I suppose. Just use the arrow keys to navigate through the text you're trying to copy—it’s really that simple.
Ctrl/C
Just position it exactly where you want the copy to land.
Ctrl/V... I suppose that's all there is to say, really. It’s the ultimate shortcut—the digital bread and butter of everything we do—yet somehow, people still seem to stumble over the basics. I guess it's just one of those things you either get or you don't.