Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 9, 2020)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
In other issues of ExcelTips you learn how to use the Format Painter to quickly and easily copy formatting between cells. Despite how handy it is, there may be times when you don't want to use the Format Painter. For instance, the Format Painter may not be visible at the top of the screen and it would be a hassle to display it just to copy a format. In instances like this, you can use copying and pasting to copy formats to a different cell or cell range.
To copy formatting using this method, you use techniques traditionally used when editing the contents of your worksheet:
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2768) 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: Using Copy and Paste for Formatting.
Professional Development Guidance! Four world-class developers offer start-to-finish guidance for building powerful, robust, and secure applications with Excel. The authors show how to consistently make the right design decisions and make the most of Excel's powerful features. Check out Professional Excel Development today!
Want a quick way to add some underlines to your cell values? It's easy using the shortcuts provided in this tip.
Discover MoreThe Format Painter is great for copying formatting from one cell to another. If you don't want to grab the mouse to use ...
Discover MoreIf you are familiar with decimal tabs in Word, you may wonder if you can set the same sort of alignment in Excel. The ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2021-04-20 14:28:52
Mark Schweim
This method doesn't seem to work though on cells with mixed character formatting. I have a spreadsheet at work made by someone else with text not underlined and I need to select the underline format so the inserted data appears underlined like the rest of the details area. But although the underlining shows correctly on the first sheet, copying and pasting to the other worksheets results in the Date copied from the first sheet where it appeared underlined not being underlined on the sheet it was pasted into even when selecting to paste formatting.
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.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments