How to Use the Spike Feature to Cut and Paste Multiple Items at Once in Microsoft Word

The standard Windows clipboard only holds one item at a time. If you copy a sentence, and then copy a paragraph immediately after, the original sentence is permanently deleted from the clipboard. If you want to pull multiple, non-consecutive paragraphs from a 50-page Microsoft Word document and paste them all onto a new page, copying and pasting them one by one is a massive waste of time. Instead, you can use a hidden, decades-old Word feature called the “Spike.”

What is the Spike?

The Spike (named after the old metal spikes journalists used to impale pieces of paper onto) is a secondary clipboard exclusive to Microsoft Word. It allows you to “cut” multiple, separate pieces of text and stack them all up in its memory. When you are ready, you can paste the entire stacked collection into a new location all at once.

How to Add Text to the Spike

Warning: The Spike fundamentally acts as a “Cut” tool, not a “Copy” tool. When you send text to the Spike, it is removed from its original location in your document.

1. Open your Word document.
2. Use your mouse to highlight the first sentence or paragraph you want to move.
3. Press the Ctrl + F3 keys on your keyboard simultaneously. The highlighted text will disappear from your screen—it has been successfully impaled onto the Spike.
4. Scroll down to the next piece of text you want to move. Highlight it.
5. Press Ctrl + F3 again. This second piece of text is now stacked directly on top of the first piece inside the Spike’s memory.
6. Repeat this process as many times as necessary, gathering bits and pieces from all over the document.

How to Paste the Spiked Content

Once you have collected all your desired text, you can unload the entire Spike.

1. Scroll to the end of your document or open a brand new Word document.
2. Click exactly where you want the gathered text to appear.
3. Press the Ctrl + Shift + F3 keys simultaneously.

The entire collection of text will be instantly pasted onto the page in the exact chronological order you spiked them. By using this command, the Spike’s memory is simultaneously emptied, resetting it for your next project. (If you want to paste the text but keep the Spike’s memory intact, simply type the word spike and press F3 or Enter instead).