This article is for people with visual or cognitive impairments who use a screen reader program such as Windows Narrator, JAWS, or NVDA with Microsoft 365 products. This article is part of the Microsoft 365 screen reader support content set where you can find more accessibility information on our apps. For general help, visit Microsoft Support.
Use the Spike in Word with your keyboard and a screen reader to cut multiple blocks of text or other content and paste them elsewhere in the document or into another Word document. The Spike is similar to the actual physical spike used in many restaurants: when you have paid your bill, it's stuck on the spike with other paid bills. Similarly, you can place multiple items to the Spike and then paste all that content at once. The Spike is different from the Windows clipboard, which only stores one copied item at a time.
Notes:
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New Microsoft 365 features are released gradually to Microsoft 365 subscribers, so your app might not have these features yet. To learn how you can get new features faster, join the Office Insider program.
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To learn more about screen readers, go to How screen readers work with Microsoft 365.
In this topic
Add content to the Spike
You can use the Spike to cut anything you can cut to the Windows clipboard, for example, text, tables, or images.
Select the content you want to cut in Word and press Ctrl+F3. The selected item is cut from the original document and added to the Spike. If you only want to copy it instead of cutting, press Ctrl+Z to undo the cut. The content still stays copied in the Spike.
You can repeat this as many times as you like. Each cut item is stored in the Spike.
Paste content from the Spike
There are several ways to paste content from the Spike.
Paste everything and clear the Spike
If you know that you only need to paste the content in the Spike once, press Ctrl+Shift+F3 to paste all of it at the current location. This empties the Spike.
Paste everything by typing spike
If you want to paste the content in the Spike to multiple places or documents, type spike and press Enter to paste all of it at the current location without emptying the Spike. Repeat this anywhere you need the content.
Paste everything using the ribbon
You can use the Word ribbon to paste all content in the Spike without emptying it.
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Press Alt, N, Q to select the Insert ribbon tab and open the Quick Parts menu. You hear: "Text, AutoText, menu item." Press Enter to open the AutoText menu.
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Press the Down arrow key until you hear "Spike," and press Enter to paste the Spike content at the current location.
You can repeat these steps anywhere you need the content.
See also
Use a screen reader to insert and change text in Word
Basic tasks using a screen reader with Word
Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365
Use the Spike in Word for Mac with your keyboard and a screen reader to cut multiple blocks of text or other content and paste them elsewhere in the document or into another Word document. The Spike is similar to the actual physical spike used in many restaurants: when you have paid your bill, it's stuck on the spike with other paid bills. Similarly, you can place multiple items to the Spike and then paste all that content at once. The Spike is different from the macOS clipboard, which only stores one copied item at a time.
Notes:
-
New Microsoft 365 features are released gradually to Microsoft 365 subscribers, so your app might not have these features yet. To learn how you can get new features faster, join the Office Insider program.
-
This topic assumes that you are using the built-in macOS screen reader, VoiceOver. To learn more about using VoiceOver, go to VoiceOver Getting Started Guide.
In this topic
Add content to the Spike
You can use the Spike to cut anything you can cut to the macOS clipboard, for example, text, tables, or images.
Select the content you want to cut in Word for Mac and press 
You can repeat this as many times as you like. Each cut item is stored in the Spike.
Paste content from the Spike
There are two ways to paste content from the Spike.
Paste everything and clear the Spike
If you know that you only need to paste the content in the Spike once, press
Paste everything by typing spike
If you want to paste the content in the Spike to multiple places or documents, type spike and press Return to paste all of it at the current location without emptying the Spike. Repeat this anywhere you need the content.
See also
Use a screen reader to insert and change text in Word
Basic tasks using a screen reader with Word
Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365
Technical support for customers with disabilities
Microsoft wants to provide the best possible experience for all our customers. If you have a disability or questions related to accessibility, please contact the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk for technical assistance. The Disability Answer Desk support team is trained in using many popular assistive technologies and can offer assistance in English, Spanish, French, and American Sign Language. Please go to the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk site to find out the contact details for your region.
If you are a government, commercial, or enterprise user, please contact the enterprise Disability Answer Desk.
