Create Microsoft Word macro for pasting unformatted text

    *This procedure may vary slightly depending on your version of Microsoft Word.

To create this macro, choose Tools/Macro/Record New Macro. In Macro name:, type EditPasteUnformatted. Ensure that Store macro in: is set to All Documents (Normal.dot), then click Keyboard. We might as well save some time while we're here. Let's use Alt+Shift+V, as the previous tip. Click Assign and then Close.

Now, the Stop Recording toolbar appears. Usually, you won't be able to read the full text in its title bar. In your Word window, choose Edit/Paste Special/Unformatted text, and click OK. Why not press Enter? When recording macros, you don't want to take a chance that pressing Enter does something you don't want done. So, take deliberate steps, and go directly to the buttons you want.

Back in the document, hover the mouse over the Stop Recording toolbar tools, leftmost tool. Verify that the tooltip says Stop Recording, and click it (or use the Tools/Macro/Stop Recording menu commands).

With luck, that's all you need to do.

Now wander off elsewhere in Windows and copy some formatted text to the clipboard. Arriving back in Word, press your new shortcut key (Alt+Shift+V).  Voila!

*An extra step you might need to do if the above does not fully perform the action:

In Word, choose Tools/Macro/Macros (the shortcut for this is Alt/F8). Select EditPasteUnformatted and then click on Edit. This opens the Microsoft Visual Basic Editor (VBE). On the left, you should see Project/Normal (the Project Explorer) and Properties/NewMacros (the Properties Window) window-ettes. At the right, you see the guts of the macro you recorded.

Replace the line:

Selection.PasteAndFormat (wdPasteDefault)
With:

Selection.PasteSpecial Link:=False, DataType:=wdPasteText

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