Paste without Formatting in Tables - InDesign CC

[ssharp35]

Does anyone know if you can copy information from a formatted table in one inDesign file and paste it into another table that has different formatting? Typically, when you copy from one table, the formatting of the table it resides in, is copied as well, so it changes the formatting of the table you are pasting the copy into (even if clipboard has the text only option checked).

Thanks,

Steve

[winterm · Accepted solution]

How do you paste? Try using Paste without Formatting - Shift+Ctrl+V in Windows (Shift+Cmd+V on Mac, I think).

[ssharp35]

Good idea. It is command/shift/v on a mac but nothing happened. I also tried using pull down menu under Edit but Paste without Formatting was grayed out.

[winterm]

How exactly you do it? You must copy text, then select text you're going to replace but keep its formatting, then hit the command.

Edit:

What if you try (test) this with simple text (not in a table)? Can you make this command to work at all?

[ssharp35]

Yes copying text that is not in a table does work. (My process was this: I selected a row in the table that has the text I want, hit command C, then when to the file I want to place the text in, selected the row of the table where I want it and hit Command/shift/V).

[ssharp35]

As you know when you just copy a row in a table, the formatting of the table copies, too, which I don't want, because it changes the formatting of the table I'm pasting into requiring me to then change it back. Time consuming.

[winterm]

Ah, entire row, that's the problem. Nope, you can copy only cell by cell this way, otherwise Paste without Formatting won't work.

[Laubender]

Hi winterm ,

it's not cell by cell, it's selected text in cell by selected text in cell.

A workaround for a selected row of cells would be:

Copy, switch to TextEdit.app

Paste to a file where preferences are set to text-only.

Deselect.

Select the text in TextEdit again.

Copy the selected text.

Switch to InDesign.

Select the first cell in the row you want to copy your text to and paste.

Regards,
Uwe

[winterm]

Laubender  wrote

it's not cell by cell, it's selected text in cell by selected text in cell.

Oh yes, sure, I wasn't accurate, sorry for that cutting corners at the small hours...

[CJC Williams]

The answer marked as correct on here is in fact incorrect. The option to Paste withthout Formatting is not available (greyed out) when working with multiple cells from a table. To paste multiple cells from one table to another in InDesign you first have to paste into a secondary application to remove the formatting, then copy and paste from that app into InDesign. Excel or OpenOffice work well as the secondary app.

Select multiple cells in Indesign -

CTRL+C to copy them

Open a blank spreadsheet in Excel or OpenOffice

Click any cell to highlight it

CTRL+V to paste

Select all the populated cells in the spreadsheet

CTRL+C

Select the cells in the destination table in InDesign 

CTRL+V

You should now have the data copied across, but retaining the formatting of the destination table

[Laubender]

Hi @CJC Williams ,

well yes, nothing has changed.

For more details see my reply above from September 2018.

Regards,
Uwe Laubender
( Adobe Community Expert )

[SJRiegel]

To paste multiple cells from one table to another in InDesign you first have to paste into a secondary application to remove the formatting, then copy and paste from that app into InDesign. Excel or OpenOffice work well as the secondary app.

That works, but creates a lot of unnecessary steps.You don't need to leave InDesign to do this.

 If you covert the source table to text, you can copy a row of tabbed text, and use Paste without Formatting to fill the table row.