Tips, Tricks, and Answers

The following articles are available for the 'Copying Data' topic. Click the article''s title (shown in bold) to see the associated article.

   Can't Copy Data between Workbooks
Edit a group of workbooks at the same time and you probably will find yourself trying to copy information from one of those workbooks to another one. If you aren't able to copy as you expect, it can be frustrating.

   Changes in Font Size when Copying
Have you ever copied information from one worksheet to another, only to have the information you paste not look the way you expected? There's a reason for that, and it has to do with source and target formatting, as discussed in this tip.

   Copying a Cell without Formatting
When you are copying a cell from one place to another (perhaps even to a different worksheet), you may not want to copy the formatting from the source cell to the target cell. This is where Paste Special comes in handy, as illustrated in this tip.

   Copying a Hyperlink to Lots of Worksheets
Copying information from one place to another in a worksheet is easy. Copying hyperlinks may not seem that easy, but you can use the same editing techniques you use with regular information.

   Copying Cells to Fill a Range
Excel provides two really helpful shortcuts you can use to fill a range of cells, either horizontally or vertically. These shortcuts will help make you r data-entry tasks a breeze.

   Copying Formulas using a Pattern
Copying formulas from one cell to another is quite intuitive in Excel—unless you want the copied formulas to follow some sort of pattern. This tip discusses how you can utilize patterns in formulas to get just the result you desire.

   Copying Subtotals
If you have added subtotals to your worksheet data, you might want to copy those subtotals somewhere else. This is easy to do using a special feature of the Go To command.

   Copying to Very Large Ranges
Using the mouse to select a large cell range can be frustratingly slow. If you want to make copying to a large range of cells a snap, you'll love the techniques in this tip.

   Editing the Same Cell in Multiple Sheets
When creating a workbook, you may need to make changes on one worksheet and have those edits appear on the same cells in other worksheets. This is relatively easy to do by working with a range of selected sheets, as described in this tip.

   Entering Info into Multiple Cells
Want to make an entry of the same value into a group of selected cells? It's easy to do with just one small change in how you now enter your data.

   Exact Formula Copies
When you copy a formula from one cell to another, Excel normally adjusts the cell references within the formula so they are relative to where the formula is copied. This tip shows a variation on copying that allows you to avoid the formula adjustments.

   Getting Rid of Non-Printing Characters Intelligently
Is your worksheet, imported from an external source, plagued by non-printing characters that show up like small boxes on-screen? You can get rid of them using the various techniques described in this tip.

   Inserting and Copying Rows
Want an easy way to insert a new row in a worksheet and copy everything from the row above? (You end up with two identical rows this way.) Here's a handy macro that can do this edit in one quick step.

   Quickly Entering Data
Excel includes a handy shortcut for entering data that is similar to whatever you entered in the cell above your entry point. Add this shortcut to your arsenal of editing tools, and you can increase your editing speed.

   Relative Worksheet References when Copying
Copy a formula from one cell to another on the same worksheet, and Excel adjusts any relative references in the formula automatically. It doesn't adjust worksheet references, however, when copying from one worksheet to another. This tip explains why this occurs and what you can do about it.

   Unique Name Entry, Take Two
If you need to make sure that a column contains only unique text values, you can use data validation for the task. This won't help when someone decides to copy and paste information, however. This tip addresses how you can block such actions using a macro.