Filed under: Software, How-tos, Productivity
Pasting with style in Apple's iWork suite
In Apple's iWork suite, the "Paste and Match Style" or "Paste Style" options, as implied in their names, allow you to paste the style from one element onto another; or to paste an element into a document and to match the style of the document that it's getting pasted to. In many ways, they're the iWork equivalent of "format painter" found in Microsoft Office. And, in many ways, they're much better.
For example, say I'm working on a presentation on my company's frozen banana sales in Keynote. I've created my first slide, with a title of "Frozen Bananas Sold."
But, I also have a Numbers document that I'm working on, and I want to take the "Frozen Bananas Sold" title to have the same font and color as the "Bluth's Frozen Bananas - Balance Sheet." To do this, I'll need to click on the "Bluth's Frozen Bananas - Balance Sheet" element and select "Copy Style" (or command-option-c) from the Format menu within Numbers. Then, I'll need to move back to the Keynote document, click on the "Frozen Bananas Sold" element, and select "Paste Style" (command-option-v) from the Format menu. Now, the title of my Keynote presentation has the same font formatting as title from my Numbers document.
While the "Paste Style" option allows you to apply the style elements from one element onto another, "Paste and Match Style," on the other hand, applies a document's style onto the object that's being pasted. For instance, in my Numbers document, I have a sales chart that I'd like to paste onto my Keynote document.
Unfortunately, the font is dark, which would clash with the colors of my Keynote presentation. With the "Paste and Match Style" option, my chart will take on the style elements of my Keynote document.
Got any iWork tips you'd like to share? Let us know in the comments below.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Konrad said 3:20PM on 11-16-2009
You should put some music behind your presentation. Possibly some Final Countdown.
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DeaconGTG said 3:25PM on 11-16-2009
I'm not sure why you would need to make a presentation here. Everyone knows there's always money in the banana stand.
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Greenie said 4:04PM on 11-16-2009
Oh man, I miss this how badly.
Corgy said 3:45PM on 11-16-2009
Watch out for the seal with a bow tie.
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terssi said 3:41PM on 11-16-2009
Speaking of graphics, did you guys know that there is great graphic bundle out there:
http://www.macgraphoto.com/a/23514
?
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Rafe H. said 3:49PM on 11-16-2009
Nice post. Nice tip. Nice demo. And hey, this only has one unnecessary mention of a Microsoft product. A new record for TUAW?
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Indiana said 3:49PM on 11-16-2009
... but bananas like the climate of the very very tropical equator... so you sholud never put bananas in the refrigerator. No no no no!!!
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booticon said 3:55PM on 11-16-2009
There's ALWAYS money in the banana stand.
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Rudy said 5:55PM on 11-16-2009
paste and match style is truly a godsend
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Justin said 6:35PM on 11-16-2009
Paste and Match Style works in nearly EVERY Cocoa application. It's a standard feature across Mac OS X. I can pop open XCode, open the interface file, drag a text view to the window, click "Build and Go" and my app will automatically have full Paste and Match Style functionality. So it's definitely not limited to iWork.
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michael s said 1:21AM on 11-17-2009
Who else here just wants to talk about AD?
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info said 4:34AM on 11-17-2009
Great article... Quick question though,
At work one of my main tasks (read - every fracking day!) is to re format PP presentations for Keynote display and 9 times out of 10 I also have to reformat Black text on white background to the inverse.
Is there a way to 'Paste Style' to multiple pre-formated slides with a few keystrokes or do I still have to go through each and every text box?
Kind regards : Andy
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dave said 7:01AM on 11-17-2009
Bluths FTW
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dlaniohan said 10:29AM on 11-17-2009
Thanks I need all the iWork help I can get!
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Ondroo said 7:58PM on 11-18-2009
Thanks for the presentation Mr. Manager.
Err, ah, I mean manager.
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