Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Quickly Duplicating Drawing Objects.

Quickly Duplicating Drawing Objects

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 3, 2024)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


You probably know that you can copy drawing objects using the familiar copy (Ctrl+C) and paste (Ctrl+V) commands. You may not know that there are other ways—quicker ways—that you can accomplish the same task.

The first method simply entails selecting the object and pressing Ctrl+D. That's it; the object is duplicated. In addition, if you hold down the shortcut key for a few seconds, the "autorepeat" feature of your keyboard will kick in and you can duplicate the object a zillion times in short order. Once duplicated, you can move the new objects where ever you need them in your worksheet.

If you prefer to use the mouse, you can duplicate objects by holding down the Ctrl key as you click an drag the object you want to duplicate. When you release the mouse button, the object is duplicated at the point where you released the button.

Another benefit of both of these approaches is that you don't need to use the Clipboard. That means you won't disturb anything you previously copied to the Clipboard. These techniques work equally well for ClipArt, WordArt, and AutoShapes, as well as text boxes.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2481) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Quickly Duplicating Drawing Objects.

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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Dictionary Shortcut Key

Need a quick way to display the dictionary or other grammar tools? Use one of the handy built-in shortcuts provided by Word.

Discover More

Getting Rid of Spaces in Merged Data

When you merge information with a Word document, you may not be completely satisfied with the appearance of some of the ...

Discover More

Comparing Workbooks

Do you need to compare two workbooks to each other? While you can use specialized third-party software to do the ...

Discover More

Best-Selling VBA Tutorial for Beginners Take your Excel knowledge to the next level. With a little background in VBA programming, you can go well beyond basic spreadsheets and functions. Use macros to reduce errors, save time, and integrate with other Microsoft applications. Fully updated for the latest version of Office 365. Check out Microsoft 365 Excel VBA Programming For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Styles for Lines, Dashes, and Arrows

Create a simple drawing object, and Excel makes some assumptions about how that object should appear. Excel provides a ...

Discover More

Resizing a Picture

Place a graphic into a worksheet, and it is inevitable that you'll need to change the size of that graphic. Here's the ...

Discover More

Using a Graphic for a Background

If you want to enhance the appearance of a worksheet, one way to do it is to add a graphic. Excel allows you to add one ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 9 - 2?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.