Why does Word freeze when I paste?

Pasting with Ctrl+V brings in all source formatting, which can include hundreds of styles, embedded objects, and images. This floods Word's formatting engine. Paste Special > Unformatted Text avoids this.

Fix: Word Freezes When Pasting Content

Why Pasting Causes Freezes

When you copy content from web pages, PDFs, or other documents, the clipboard carries all formatting, styles, and embedded objects. Pasting this into Word forces it to process everything at once.

Schritt-für-Schritt-Lösung

Step 1: Use Paste Special

Instead of Ctrl+V:

Press Ctrl+Shift+V or go to Home > Paste > Paste Special
Select Unformatted Text
This pastes only the text without problematic formatting

Step 2: Change Default Paste Behavior

Go to File > Options > Advanced
Scroll to Cut, copy, and paste
Set Pasting from other programs to Keep Text Only
Click OK

Step 3: Clear the Clipboard

If a specific clipboard item is causing issues:

Press Windows + V to open Clipboard history
Click the X on problematic items to remove them
Or click Clear all at the top

Step 4: Paste in Chunks

For very large pastes:

Copy and paste the content in smaller sections
Save after each paste to let Word process the content

Vorbeugung

Use Ctrl+Shift+V as your default paste habit
When copying from web pages, paste into Notepad first to strip formatting
For images, save them as files and insert them with Insert > Pictures