Copying and pasting data in Excel is an essential skill. If you frequently need to copy and paste formulas, values, or cell formatting, you should definitely up your copy paste game!
We cover how to copy and paste in Excel in our Level 1 course but this article provides a good overview of the basics.
3 Ways to Cut, Copy, and Paste One or More Adjacent Cells
It’s easy to copy a cell (or multiple cells) to a destination range in any spreadsheet.
Here are 3 ways to cut, copy, and paste in Excel.
1) Use the Cut, Copy, and Paste buttons on Excel’s Ribbon
Using the cut, copy, and paste buttons on the ribbon in Excel can be broken down into a few simple steps.
- Select the cell (or cells) you want to copy or move.
- Click the Cut or Copy button in the Home > Clipboard group.
- Select the destination cell.
- Click the Paste icon in the Home > Clipboard group.
2) Cut, Copy, and Paste Excel Data with Keyboard Shortcuts
It’s a lot faster to cut, copy, and paste Excel data using keyboard shortcuts. This method involves a few simple steps but we’re not going to click any buttons on Excel’s ribbon.
Here’s how to use keyboard shortcuts to copy and move data:
- Select the cell (or adjacent cells) you want to copy or move.
- Press CTRL + X to cut or CTRL + C to copy the selected cells.
- Select the destination cell.
- Press CTRL + V to paste.
3) Use Drag and Drop for Speed and Convenience
If you prefer using mouse, drag and drop might be the fastest and most convenient way to copy or move Excel data.
Here’s how you drag and drop:
- Select the cell (or adjacent cells) you want to copy or move.
- Position your pointer above the border of the selected range.
- Press your left mouse button and drag the range to move it or hold the control key as you drag the selected cells to copy.
Additional Ways to Cut, Copy, and Paste in Excel
The methods mentioned in the article so far accomplish the same thing. Each of them let you cut, copy, and paste from one part of your spreadsheet to another.
Here are a few additional techniques you can use to copy and paste like a pro!
Copy All the Cells in a Worksheet
What if you need to copy the cell contents of an entire worksheet (including blank cells)?
Here’s what you do… Simply press CTRL + A to select all of the cells in the worksheet then cut, copy, and paste using any of the methods described in this article.
Copy Only the Values into Destination Cells
If you only want to copy only the values from a cell, or multiple cells, here’s the process:
- Select the cell (or cells) you want to copy.
- Click the Copy button in the Home > Clipboard group or press CTRL + C.
- Select a cell or destination range.
- Click the down-arrow under the Paste button in the Home > Clipboard group and select Values.
Only the values are pasted into the destination cells, even if the copied cells contained formulas.
If you don’t like clicking on the various paste icons in the drop-down menu, you can always select Paste Special and make your selection in the Paste Special dialog box.
Copy Only the Formulas
To copy only the formulas, following these steps:
- Select the cell (or cells) you want to copy.
- Click the Copy button in the Home > Clipboard group or press CTRL + C.
- Select a cell or destination range.
- Click the down-arrow under the Paste button in the Home > Clipboard group and select Formulas.
Now You Can Copy and Paste Like a Pro!
Armed with the knowledge from this article, you’ll copy and paste cells in any spreadsheet with ease!
