Copy & Paste Do's and Don't

Instead of working with a blank canvas, copy & pasting allows editors to save time and effort. As you’ll learn, not all formatting is created equal when copy & pasting to our editor. Depending on where you’re copying from (Google Doc, Word Doc, webpage, Excel, PDFs, etc.) the effect will vary when pasting. Thankfully the editor cleans up much of the formatting leaving you with simple edits to make.

How to

1. Highlight the information to be copied then press Ctrl + C (For Mac users: Command + C ) to copy the highlighted information to your clipboard.
2. Paste the information using Ctrl + V (For Mac users: Command + V)
   Note: PC users can enable a feature called Clipboard History. This allows you to copy multiple items to your clipboard for pasting at a later time.

About

The highlighted information you’re copying is not limited to text. Unknowingly you may have copied formatted text, images, tables, webpage HTML “code,” links and much more. It’s your responsibility to clean up these issues.

Recommendation and Tools

We recommend that simpler is always better. Use only one font, bulleted & numbered list where possible, follow proper heading hierarchy and use our stylized blocks when a more visual appeal is wanted.

Tools 

Each of our rich text properties include formatting options you should be familiar with. The following tools provide specific operations to make formatting easier. 

•  Paste as text--You can paste information from your clipboard, this removes all formatting and only keeps text. Button toggles, be sure to deselect after pasting.
•  Clear Formatting--Highlight the pasted information before selecting this operation. This removes most text formatting but maintains any links and simple styles you may have copied.

Do's and Don't

Do...

• Use the “Clear Formatting” button after pasting. This is a good 1st step as it maintains most of the formatting you probably want.
• Highlight text and update the formatting. See Using the Text Editor for a detailed look into the Text Editor and RT blocks.
• Be sure your page and section titles are not bolded. Use Headings instead.
• Double check your links! Another positive trait of the editor is that your links will automatically update if the linked page exists in the CMS. Use this opportunity to review the ownership of your information.
• Are you migrating from an Ektron site? Be sure to update your document links!
• Ask yourself: Is the page I’m linking to popular? Chances are it exists as an Office/School page or can be found in our Shared folder: PGCPS Home>Shared Resources>Supportive Pages. See a popular page you’d want missing? Send your request to websupport@pgcps.org. 
• Does the linked page reside within the PGCPS domain? If not, be sure you selected to “Open in a new window” when accessing the link properties: . This assures the user will have access to your webpage after they’re done with (closed) the linked page.

Don’t...

• Copy and paste images. If images do display, two things may have happened: 1) The image itself is hosted elsewhere and you’re viewing its linked version or 2) The images you’re viewing was unknowingly copied to the CMS, which puts them into a “dynamic” folder that only appears when editing this specific item and you’ll need to remember to manually publish them...whew!...Obviously, In the event you notice you’ve pasted an image, we recommend deleting the image from the property. If an image must be used, you must 1st add the image to your asset Image folder before using.
• Assume what you see is the only information you’ve copied. You may have copied what we call “whitespace.” This is lines of nothingness, usually a lot of spacebar being pressed. Be sure to scroll to the bottom of your properties, you may need to clear the extra space.
• Use other text editors to manipulate what the Optimizely CMS can do.

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