Copying Formatting

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 16, 2020)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

Often it is beneficial to copy formatting from one place in your spreadsheet to another. Excel provides a shortcut for doing this:

  1. Select the cell that contains the formatting you want to copy.
  2. Click once on the Format Painter tool on the toolbar. (This tool has a small paintbrush on it.)
  3. Select the cell or range of cells that you want to have the same formatting as the cell you selected in step 1.

If you want to copy formatting to more than one location, then you can double-click on the Format Painter tool in step 2. When you are done copying, simply press Esc to indicate you are done.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (1928) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

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