When I copy and paste onto an email outlook does not keep source formatting. I have been through so many options screens. How do I keep the source formatting intact?

Anonymous
2023-05-01T15:00:25+00:00

When I copy and paste onto an email outlook does not keep source formatting. I have been through so many options screens. How do I keep the source formatting intact? For instance I'll copy an excel file and paste it and it only come out as plain text . This wasn't an issue until I came into work today.

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Anonymous
2024-05-03T20:05:00+00:00

Hey everyone,

I may have a small workaround that I just discovered. I tested it out twice, but it seems to have worked for me so far, please let me know if you also have success or not. So, I typically copy my messages in color similar to the one displayed by Ornelaks in this thread. I decided (out of random curiosity) to use the copy and paste function within outlook to see if it would paste and keep the color formatting.

The first two tries of using copy and paste, I used the keyboard shortcut and the left click of the mouse. THEN, I used the the copy and paste icon located in the top left corner of outlook to paste it, and VIOLA! It kept all the color in the formatting. I hope this is helpful to you all (until it stops working again), but let me know if this is helpful!

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  1. Anonymous
    2024-06-07T20:58:04+00:00

    When you paste into the web version of Outlook, you should have the option to hit "Ctrl" again to select HOW the text is pasted - plain text, merged format, or as it was when you copied it. I don't know why, but it is defaulting to merged format - this might solve the issue for those who can't access the paste button shown earlier.

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  2. Anonymous
    2024-05-03T16:01:48+00:00

    Hello Mike,

    If you could read the rest of this thread, could you please discuss with your team the best way to solve our issue? We imagine the coding of this program has changed and is causing the issue, but I know that I cannot fix anything on my end to make my formatting stay. It would be really beneficial if you could let us know of a way to fix the formatting issue in your programs asap. Thank you!

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  3. Anonymous
    2024-05-03T20:55:37+00:00

    Are you on the message tab?

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  4. Anonymous
    2024-07-08T14:19:14+00:00

    This is, unfortunately, a purposeful change. I saw this "update" in my email this morning:

    New paste default

    Pasting now merges formatting with the content in your email. To change this, click the paste icon and then Paste as is.

    Why in the world this passed testing and anyone thought it would be a good idea is beyond me. I guarantee that for the majority of people, they rely on copying and pasting while preserving original formatting. I really hope they take feedback and reverse this stupid decision.

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