Excel.Tips.Net Welcome toExcel.Tips.Net

Helpful Links

Tips.Net Home
ExcelTips Home
Ask an Excel Question
Make a Comment

Tips.Net Store

ExcelTips FAQ
ExcelTips Premium

Learn Access Now
Free Printable Forms

Beauty Tips
Car Tips
Cleaning Tips
College Tips
Cooking Tips
Excel2007 Tips
ExcelTips
Family Tips
Gardening Tips
Health Tips
Home Tips
Legal Tips
Money Tips
Organizing Tips
Pest Tips
Pet Tips
Wedding Tips
Word2007 Tips
WordTips

Advertise on the
ExcelTips Site

Newest Tips

Removing Borders

Converting to Octal

Filtering Columns for Unique Values

Printing Multiple Worksheets on a Single Page

Changing the Default Font

Creating a Drawing Object

Determining a Value of a Cell

 

Ctrl+V Pasting is Flakey

Summary: When you copy and paste a formula, you usually want to see the formula where you pasted. If you don't get the formula, but instead get the result, it could be because of the way you opened your workbooks. (This tip works with Microsoft Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, and Excel 2003.)

When I am working in Excel, I copy and paste information quite a bit. I copy things using Ctrl+C, and then paste them using Ctrl+V. Sometimes, however, Ctrl+V does not exhibit the expected behavior. For instance, when I copy a cell that contains a formula, and then paste the formula into a cell in a different workbook, I expect Excel to paste the formula. Sometimes Ctrl+V results in just the result of the formula being pasted, the same as if I chose Values from the Paste Special dialog box.

It appears that this behavior is closely related to how the Excel workbooks are opened. If I open two workbooks in the same instance of Excel, I can copy and paste formulas from one workbook to another with no problem. If, however, I open two workbooks in different instances of Excel, then Ctrl+V results in values being pasted from one workbook to the other, rather than formulas.

The easiest way to check whether your workbooks are open in different instances of Excel is to take a look at the Window menu. If you click the Window menu in Excel, you should be able to see all your open workbooks at the bottom of the menu. If you cannot, then you know that the workbook (or workbooks) missing from the menu are open in a different instance of Excel.

If you want to paste formulas from one workbook to another, the solution is to close one of the workbooks and then reopen it within the other instance of Excel. In other words, open it by using the Open tool or by choosing File | Open.

On a related note, if you want to know exactly how your pasting will occur (rather than leaving it up to Excel), you should use Edit | Paste Special. Remember, however, that if you try to copy formulas from one instance of Excel to another, you get a very different set of options in the Paste Special dialog box than you get if you are copying within the same instance of Excel.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2362) applies to Microsoft Excel versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

More Power! For some people, the prospect of creating macros can be scary. Those who conquer their fears, however, find they become much more confident and productive once they learn how to make Excel do exactly what they want. ExcelTips: The Macros is an invaluable source for learning Excel macros. You are introduced to the topic in bite-sized chunks, pulled from past issues of ExcelTips. Learn at your own pace, exactly the way you want.
 
Check out ExcelTips: The Macros today!