Paste Options in Excel
This example explains the various ways you can paste data in Excel (different paste options in Excel). Cell B5 below contains the SUM function, which calculates the sum of the range B2:B4. In addition, we set the background color of this cell to yellow and added borders.
💎 Paste
The Paste option pastes everything.
1. Click on cell B5, then right-click and select Copy. Alternatively, press CTRL + C on your keyboard.
2. Next, select cell F5, right-click on it, and choose Paste under Paste Options: (or press CTRL + V).
Result:
💎 Values
When you use the Values option, Excel pastes the outcome of the formula instead of the formula itself.
1. Click on cell B5, then right-click and select Copy. Alternatively, use the shortcut CTRL + C.
2. Now, select cell D5, right-click, and from the “Paste Options” list, click on Values.
Result:
Note: To show only the result instead of the formula in cell B5, choose the cell, press F2, and then press F9.
💎 Formulas
The Formulas option only pastes the formula.
1. Click on cell B5, right-click it, and choose Copy. Or press CTRL + C.
2. Next, click on cell F5, right-click, and choose Formulas from the Paste Options menu.
Result:
💎 Formatting
The Formatting option only pastes the formatting.
1. Select cell B5, right-click on it, and click Copy. You can also press CTRL + C.
2. Next, select cell D5, right-click, and select Formatting from the Paste Options menu.
Result:
Note: The Format Painter copy/pastes formatting even quickly.
💎 Excel Paste Special
The Paste Special dialog provides additional options for pasting content. Follow these steps to open the Paste Special window.
1. Highlight cell B5, right-click to access the context menu, and select Copy, or use the CTRL + C shortcut.
2. Select cell D5, right-click on it, and then click Paste Special.
The Paste Special dialog box appears.
Note: You can also find the paste options here that were described earlier. Excel gives you the option to paste in different ways, such as only comments, only validation, the theme, everything except borders, or just column widths, formulas, values, and number formats. You can also use Paste Special to do calculations, ignore blanks, and switch data from rows to columns.
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