Whether a new or existing MacBook Air or Pro user, there can occasionally be times when knowing how to do certain tasks is not so obvious — and this includes when attempting to copy an image. Apple does make the process of copying an image fairly simple on a MacBook, although the exact method depends on whether pasting within a document or from another document.

Generally speaking, copying and pasting on Apple devices is extremely user-friendly. For example, users can simply press ‘Command’ and ‘C’ to copy or ‘Command’ and ‘X’ to cut text. Not to mention, users can even copy and paste across devices when using Apple’s Universal Clipboard feature (such as copying from an iPhone and pasting to a Mac computer or MacBook). Although Universal Clipboard can also be used to copy an image from one Apple device to a MacBook Air or Pro, the process is slightly different when attempting to copy and paste an image on the same device.

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If looking to copy and paste an image within the same document, select the item to be copied and then press and hold the Option key. The user will then be able to drag the selected item to any other part of the document and paste it. The important point here is to keep the Option key held down until the image is in the new position. If the Option key does not remain pressed during the full process, the image will only be moved and not copied.

Copying An Image From Another Document

Users can copy an image from a different document as well. This is also fairly easy to do, so long as both documents are open at the same time on the MacBook Air or Pro. With both documents open, click on the image to select it and then drag it directly to the other document to add a copy. If the user encounters a problem when trying to drag and copy the image, they can also manually copy and paste the image to the new document. To do this, select the image, click on ‘Edit,’ followed by ‘Copy and Edit,’ and then click ‘Paste’ to add it to the new document.

Whether copying from one document to another or duplicating an image within the same document, Apple makes the process easy by allowing the user to drag the image from the old place to the new location. The fundamental difference between the two MacBook methods is the use of the Option key to copy images within the same Apple document.

What’s great about these steps is that they work exactly the same no matter which MacBook you have. Rocking the M1 MacBook Air? Have a maxed-out 16-inch MacBook Pro? Maybe you still have an older Intel model? Regardless of what your answer is, you can copy and paste images just the same on all of them. Grab the MacBook you have, follow the steps above, and you’re off to the races.