A formatting tool enables "smart" copy and paste functions. The "smart"
copy and paste functions can be invoked in a context-sensitive manner,
depending on the conditions under which the copy and paste functions are
implemented. The present invention will automatically include in a
selection a paragraph marker at the end of a selected paragraph, if every
other textual character in the paragraph has been selected. The present
invention will discard a paragraph mark that is included in pasted text
if the pasted text is pasted into the middle of another paragraph,
indicating that the user prefers the formatting of the pasted-into
paragraph. The present invention also reduces inconsistencies in
formatting styles that may exist between source and target documents
automatically redefining a style in the target document to conform to a
corresponding style in the source document. The present invention also
automatically adjusts paragraph spacing, in response to text being pasted
into a target document. In response to various scenarios, the present
invention will determine the most likely paragraph spacing intended by
the user and will apply the most probable paragraph spacing to the pasted
paragraph. The present invention also automatically adjusts list, table,
and spreadsheet formatting, in response to such document elements being
pasted into a differently-formatted target document. Finally, the present
invention provides a convenient recovery dialog that may be invoked to
alter any automatically-implemented formatting decisions.