Unlock The Secret Trick: Copy And Paste On Any Website, No Matter What The Restrictions Say!
Copying and pasting text are handy functions that make our lives easier. We use them every day, be it for work, study, or leisure. However, sometimes, we stumble upon web pages that limit our ability to copy and paste content. We might encounter contextual menus that do not feature the usual “copy” and “paste” buttons or even see warnings that notify us that the page does not support these functions. But, what do we do when we need to copy and paste something urgently, and the website seems to prevent us from doing so? Thankfully, there is a solution! In this article, we will showcase a simple trick that will allow you to copy and paste on any website, no matter what the restrictions say.
The solution lies in your browser’s developer tools. Popular browsers like Chrome, Firefox, and Safari allow you to access a set of developer tools that let you view the code and modify elements on a web page. Here’s how you can enable the developer tools and use them to copy and paste content from any website.
Open the website that is blocking your copy-paste functions.
Right-click anywhere on the page, and select “Inspect” or “Inspect Element.”
This will open the developer tools, which usually appear in a pane or a new tab.
In the developer tools, you will see various tabs, such as Elements, Console, Sources, and Network. Click on the “Elements” tab.
In the “Elements” tab, you will see the code for the web page you have opened. Look for the section that contains the content you want to copy.
Once you find the section, right-click on it, and select “Edit as HTML” or “Edit as Text.”
You will now be able to edit the HTML or text code for that section. Select the content you want to copy and paste it into a text editor or a word processor.
Once you have copied the content, do not forget to revert to the original code by clicking “Cancel” or “Save Changes.”
That’s it! You can now copy and paste from any website that has disabled these functions. Of course, you should respect the website’s terms of use and only use this trick for personal or non-commercial purposes. Moreover, keep in mind that some websites might have implemented more advanced measures to protect their content, making this trick ineffective.
In conclusion, the ability to copy and paste is a vital tool that we often take for granted. However, with this simple trick, you can access this feature on any website that blocks it. All you need is a bit of technical knowledge and the right tools. So, the next time you come across a web page that prevents you from copying and pasting, remember this neat trick and enjoy its benefits!
While surfing the Web, have you ever found a handy piece of information you want to add to the presentation you’re working on but can’t right-click to copy the text because the website has disabled it?
Luckily, there are a few easy workarounds that let you copy and paste from any website you want.
1. Disable JavaScript in your Browser
There are many websites that use JavaScript to disable right-click use on a website. By disabling JavaScript for the site, you can restore the use of right-click and copy-and-paste.
Do note that disabling JavaScript can also affect other functions of a website that can prevent some images or embeds from loading.
Click on the three-dot icon next to your Chrome profile pic in the top-right corner.
Select the Settings option in the drop-down menu.
Select the “Security and Privacy” option from the list of settings.
Open the “Site settings” menu.
Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on JavaScript.
Click on the “Add” button to block a website from using JavaScript.
Enter the URL of the website where you want to disable JavaScript into the pop-up window and click the “Add” button.
Go back to the website you want to copy text from, and hopefully, the copy-paste functionality will be restored.
2. Copy Content from Source Code
If a website allows right-clicking but does not let you select text and media, this method comes in very handy.
Right-click anywhere on the website to open a drop-down list. Select “View Page Source” from that list, which opens the HTML code of the website.
Scroll down to find the text you want to copy and copy it from here. The source code can be full of syntax that is hard to understand if you’re not a programmer. Do not get overwhelmed, as the plain text is always displayed in white or black, depending on the theme of your browser.
Even though you can copy a section of text from the page source directly, copying multiple sections or the article will take ages. To speed it up, copy the entire HTML text on the view source page by right-clicking and selecting “Select All” and “Copy.”
Head over to an HTML-to-text conversion website like wordhtml.com. Paste all the copied HTML text in the HTML tab and click the “Clean” button to get rid of all the unnecessary code that includes JavaScript or CSS elements.
Switch to the “Word Editor” tab and to easily copy the text you want without any restrictions.
3. Select from Inspect Element
Inspect Element is a very useful tool built in to almost every web browser. It allows you to look under the hood of every website and access its source code. Follow these steps to use Inspect Element to copy text from a website.
Right-click anywhere on the web page to open a drop-down list and select the last option, “Inspect.”
A sidebar will pop up on the right side of your screen, or in some cases the bottom. Select the element selection tool in the upper-left corner.
Click on the text you want to copy on the web page.
Clicking on the text you want to copy will direct you toward the line of code in the Inspect Element window where you can easily copy it through the Inspect Element window.
4. Screenshot and Convert to Text
Another easy way to copy text from a website is to simply take a screenshot of the web page and convert it into text using OCR (Optical Character Recognition) applications.
Press the Win +Shift + S keys together and activate the snipping tool in Windows to take a screenshot of the text you want to copy. Alternatively, If you are using a Mac, press the ⌘ + Shift + 4 keys. Try to capture only the important text you want to copy and avoid snipping any unnecessary elements.
Go to ocr2edit and select the “Choose File” option to upload your screenshot.
Once uploaded, click on the “Start” button to begin converting your screenshot.
Once the process is complete, a text file should be automatically downloaded to your system. If the site fails to do so, you can manually click on the “Download” button to download your text file.
5. Print to PDF
This option is viable if you want to save the whole web page for further use and not just a portion of its text. It is easy and has many use cases.
Go to the webpage you want to print and select the options menu by clicking on the three-dot icon. From the drop-down menu, select “Print.” An easier way to do this is to use the CTRL + P shortcut on Windows and ⌘ + P on Mac.
A pop-up window will appear on the screen asking your printing preferences. You can copy the text of that article directly from this pop-up window.
If you want to download the PDF file and access it offline, click on the “Save” button, and the file will be downloaded for offline viewing.
6. Browser Extensions
If you’ve recently stumbled upon a website that doesn’t allow you to right-click, you can install an extension in your browser to bring that functionality back. We are using the “Enable Right-Click for Google Chrome” extension for this example.
Head to the Chrome store and add the Enable Right-Click extension to your browser.
Click the Extension button below the navigation buttons on your browser. Select the “Enable Right Click for Google Chrome” extension to activate it.
You should be able to right-click on websites that don’t allow it without disabling the JavaScript.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why do websites prevent copying from them?
If a person can simply copy the content of a website and paste it on their own, it will hurt the original creator of that content. Aside from that, this practice also discourages the creation of original content on the Internet. For this reason, website creators prohibit you from copying content from their websites.
2. Is it legal to copy-paste from websites that ban it?
Until and unless the person who is trying to copy the content has been specifically allowed by the original creator, they cannot copy it. Any original piece of content uploaded on the Internet is protected by the DMCA copyright laws.
Reposting someone else’s content as your own violates this law. The person misrepresenting the data can be charged for any damages that their action has caused to the original creator of the content.
3. How do I copy and paste content from websites without plagiarizing?
Although it’s best to write original content, sometimes we all need some. There are many ways to avoid plagiarism. Here are a few:
Credit the original source
Paraphrase content in your own words
Elaborate on the original content and add more value from your end
Use online plagiarism checking tools to make sure your content is original
Use a different writing tone.
Image Credit: Flickr
Ojash has been writing about tech back since Symbian-based Nokia was the closest thing to a smartphone. He spends most of his time writing, researching, or ranting about bitcoin.
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