Copying a Cell without Formatting

Summary: Using the Paste Special function of Excel to copy cell contents without formatting. (This tip works with Microsoft Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, Excel 2003, and Excel 2007.)

If you want to copy the contents of a cell without formatting, you can easily do so by using the Paste Special feature of Excel. Simply follow these steps:

Select the cells whose contents you want to copy.
Press Ctrl+C to copy them to the Clipboard.
Select the cell where you want to paste the contents.
Choose Paste Special from the Edit menu. Excel displays the Paste Special dialog box. (Click here to see a related figure.)
Make sure the Formulas radio button is selected.
Click on OK.

In step 5 you could have chosen the Values radio button, but Excel would not have transferred any formulas. Instead, it would have pasted the results of formulas, as if they were static values. In other words, to truly copy cell contents, you must use the Formulas radio button.

If you are using Excel 2007, then the process of pasting without formatting can be just a bit easier. You can follow these steps:

Select the cells whose contents you want to copy.
Press Ctrl+C to copy them to the Clipboard.
Select the cell where you want to paste the contents.
Display the Home tab of the ruler and click the down-arrow under the Paste tool. From the options presented, choose Formulas.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (3012) applies to Microsoft Excel versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

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Copying a Cell without Formatting