Tools for copying text and other content from web pages

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This article offers some useful tips and aids for working with web pages, when you want to modify displayed text or page source copied to the clipboard. This would be helpful in copying webpage content in email, HTML, or other documents, as plain text or other formatted code.

Buttons

Custom Toolbar Buttons Maker, tick the check boxes, hit Submit, and you have a customized version of Toolbar Buttons for your very own, some suggestions besides just plain text:

  • "Plain Text Paste", retains only text portion from clipboard
  • "Page Colours", allow/remove color. Modifies Tools → Options → Content → Colors → Allow pages to choose their own colors
  • "Toggle Styles" as a possible alternative to more distinctive button of Read Easily extension which also creates a button. Both will modify View → Page Style

Custom Toolbar Button - MDC, provides step-by-step how to make a custom toolbar button.

Extensions

  • Extended Copy Menu, Provides the option to copy selection as plain text or html. It adds a "Copy As Html" and "Copy As Plain Text" to the context (right-click) menu. It is useful if you want to copy the text or underlying html from a web page into documents, posts or other applications.
  • Multiple Tab Handler, provides for handling of multiple tabs, as well as formatting url & title of a single tab or a selection of tabs for inclusion in email and editors as HTML, wikis, or any other format. examples
  • Copy URL + , reformatting of active tab title, selection and url or of a link for inclusion in email and editors.[1]

External applications

External applications can interface with the clipboard and retain only plain text portions. The advantage is that they can be used regardless of application, regardless of browser, browser extensions, or browser profile in use.

  • (Windows) Pure Text, will convert the Windows clipboard to "Pure Text" so can be used from any application, and for Firefox profiles where no extensions or styles need be added
  • (Mac) Plain Clip, Carsten Blüm: Mac Development, is a tiny Mac OS X application which will remove formatting from text which is on the clipboard.