How to Copy Text From a Webpage That Cannot Be Copied
Most bank and financial websites don’t allow users tocopy a piece of text to the clipboardusing the mouse or keyboard shortcut for security reasons. For example, I recently used a popular site, that doesn’t allow me to copy anything to the clipboard, and they are not the only ones. Every now and then we all come across sites that prevent users from copying text by disabling the right-click menu. Let’s check four ways to copy text from websites that won’t let you.
Table of Contents
1. Using Browser Extension
A practical solution is to use a simple browser extension to copy text from websites that don’t allow it. We will cover extensions for Chrome and Firefox but note that any extension that works on Chrome would also work on other Chromium browsers like Brave and Edge.
Follow these steps to copy text from a web page that cannot be copied:
1.Download and installAbsolute Enable Right Click & CopyonChromeorFirefoxbrowser.
2.Once installed, open the webpage that’s not allowing you to copy and paste the text.
3.Click theExtensionicon in the top right corner next to the Settings icon.
4.From the popup menu, click on theAbsolute Enable Right Click & Copy.
5.A new popup will appear. SelectEnable Copyoption. You can also select Absolute Mode to force remove any type of protection on the site. However, for most websites, the first option should be sufficient.
6.You should now be able to copy some text on the site. In case that doesn’t happen, refresh the page.
In case the above extension doesn’t work, you can also useEnable right-click for Google Chrome extension.
Tip:Know how tocopy a specific part of a webpage and link to it.
2. Using Source Code
If you can right-click on a page but cannot copy the text, you can copy text from a webpage using its source code as shown below:
1.Open the webpage and right-click on it.
2.SelectView page source.
3.A new window will open. UseCtrl + Fkeyboard shortcut and enter a word present in the text that you want to copy. Once it shows in the source code, you can easily copy it from there.
Tip:You can also use the Inspect tool to copy text from a webpage that won’t let you. Also, know how toview source code of a website on Android and iPhone.
If you want to copy lots of text from a website, a simple way is to convert the entire page into an offline PDF from where you can easily copy-paste text. To convert any webpage into a PDF, follow these steps:
1.Open the webpage and useCtrl + Pshortcut in Chrome to open the Print preview window.
2.SelectSave as PDFin the Destination drop-down box followed by Save to download the PDF on your computer.
Tip:Learn how toexport WhatsApp chat to PDF.
4. Disable Javascript
Many websites use Javascript to turn off the ability to allow users to copy text. What you can do is turn off Javascript in Chrome browser, if it’s a one-time task.
Follow these steps to copy text from protected website online by disabling Javascript:
1.Go toChrome Settings > Privacy and Securityfollowed bySite Settings.
2.Click onJavascript.
3.SelectDon’t allow sites to use Javascript.
4.Refresh the webpage from which you want to copy text and copy the text.
5.Enable Javascript after copying the text by repeating the steps.
Bonus: Take a Screenshot and Copy Text from Webpages on Any Device
In addition to the above methods, you can even take a screenshot of the website and then extract the text on any device as shown below:
Extract Text From Websites
Those are the easiest and fastest ways to enable copy-pasting text on sites that simply won’t let you. Before you go, know how toshare clipboard between Android and Windows.
Mrinal Saha
Mrinal is a tech geek who spends half of his day reading and writing about tech. While the nights are spent on shooting or editing YouTube videos. Feel free to geek out with him on-
