Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Moving and Copying Cells.
Moving and copying cells is a very common procedure when you are developing or editing your worksheets. Excel refers to moving by a different term, however. It is called cutting, which implies that you cut the information from one place and put it in another. Copying differs from cutting in that copying does not disturb the original cells; cutting clears them.
Whether you are cutting or copying, these operations involve the use of the Clipboard, a temporary storage area that is built into Windows. To cut or copy information, you must first select the cells you want to affect. Then do one of the following:
Once you have done one of these, you can use the Paste or Paste Special commands to place your information elsewhere. Pasting functions the same as in other Windows programs; it places the contents of the Clipboard at the current cursor location. In the case of Excel, the information is placed in your worksheet beginning with the currently selected cell. You can paste the Clipboard contents by pressing Ctrl+V, right-clicking a cell and choosing Paste from the Context menu, or by clicking the Paste tool on the Home tab of the ribbon.
Within Excel there is another pasting option available. This option, called Paste Special, is rather unique. It allows you to specify how Excel should paste the information in the Clipboard. When you choose it, you will see the Paste Special dialog box. The settings in the dialog box control which portion of the information in the Clipboard you want pasted, as well as what operations you want taken on the information being pasted. (See Figure 1.)
Figure 1. The Paste Special dialog box.
To display the dialog box, display the Home tab of the ribbon, click the down-arrow under the Paste tool, then choose Paste Special.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (7362) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Moving and Copying Cells.
Solve Real Business Problems Master business modeling and analysis techniques with Excel and transform data into bottom-line results. This hands-on, scenario-focused guide shows you how to use the latest Excel tools to integrate data from multiple tables. Check out Microsoft Excel 2013 Data Analysis and Business Modeling today!
Want to select only the formulas in your worksheet? It's easy to do using the Go To Special dialog box.
Discover MoreCopying information from one program (such as Word) to another (such as Excel) is a common occurrence. If you want to ...
Discover MoreExcel allows you to use multiple colors to format the text in a cell. If you want to later separate that text to ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2016-12-28 07:03:37
Damian
Ctrl+Alt+V is very useful as it brings up the Paste Special menu.
2016-12-26 05:45:58
Aelx B
Michael - cutting and copying are 'intended' to give different results and do different things.
If in c3 you have =b3 and you cut and paste c3 to d3 it will continue to say =b3.
If in you copy c3 to d3 it will change to =c3 (the relativity of the formula will stay the same ie in this case same row 1 column to the left.)
Bruce,
The example you gave doesn't really leave very much and you may as well do a full copy paste.
For other combinations you can access the various paste button options using the mouse (either off the home>paste, right click, or the drop down after you paste to the target cell) There are buttons for paste formulas or values with number format, formulas or values with source formatting.
Column width requires the whole column to be selected for copying (unless you use the paste special dialogue box).
You put the buttons you use regularly on the quick access toolbar.
I have put paste values with number format on the QAT as this overcomes the issue of copying dates and not having them show up in the new location as dates.
2016-12-24 21:16:08
Bruce
With the "Paste Special" capability, is there any way to accomplish multiple functions simultaneously? Or must I accomplish them one at a time? For example, when executing a single "Paste Special," can I simultaneously choose "Formulas," "Formats," and "Column widths" and have all three executed with a single "Paste Special?"
2016-12-24 12:17:09
MIchael Armstrong
If the cell involved contains references to other cells, copying and cutting produce different results in the target cell. I admit to being only vaguely aware of what (or why) the difference is, but often have to copy and delete, rather than cut and paste, to get the result I want.
2016-12-24 07:37:02
Jim
Allen, HELP!
This is not your offering but I had to ask. I don't know what's happened to my contacts in Outlook 2007. The last three new entries are not available by a search. I can flag them and sort by flags, but . . . maybe your readers??
In any case, thanks for the very useful tips for Word and Excel, both of which I use daily after retiring from 49 years of teaching math (and 1 of Photoshop).
Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2019 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: 
Comments