Quickly Copying Worksheets

Summary: Excel provides a little-known way to copy worksheets simply by clicking and dragging. Here's how to do it. (This tip works with Microsoft Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, Excel 2003, and Excel 2007.)

If you need to make a copy of a worksheet, you probably already know that you can use the Move or Copy Sheet option from the Edit menu. (In Excel 2007 the option is available when you display the Home tab of the ribbon and click the Format tool in the Cells group.) There is a quicker way to make a copy, however. All you need to do is follow these steps:

Select the tab of the worksheet that you want to copy.
Hold down the Ctrl key and use the mouse to drag the worksheet tab left or right. A small plus sign should appear next to the mouse pointer.
Release the mouse button when the pointer is between the tabs where you want the worksheet copy to appear.

That's it! Excel makes an exact copy of the worksheet, depositing it at the point where you released the mouse button.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (1948) applies to Microsoft Excel versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

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Quickly Copying Worksheets