Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. 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: Ignoring Paragraph Marks when Pasting.

Ignoring Paragraph Marks when Pasting

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 22, 2025)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

2

Sharon has text in which information is separated by paragraph marks. She wants to copy it to a single cell in an Excel worksheet, but whenever she tries pasting the information, Excel separates the information into different cells based on the paragraph marks.

This behavior (recognizing the paragraph marks as the start of a new chunk of data) is normal in Excel. One way to approach this problem is to simply change how you are doing your pasting. Follow these steps:

  1. In Word or whatever is your source program, copy the desired text to the Clipboard. (Selecting it and pressing Ctrl+C will do fine.)
  2. In Excel, select the cell where you want the information pasted.
  3. Press F2. This switches to edit mode for the cell, and you should see the insertion point blinking in the Formula bar. (If you don't want to take your hands off the mouse, you could also double-click the cell to enter edit mode.)
  4. Press Ctrl+V to paste the information from the Clipboard.

That's it; the information is pasted into the single cell. This works because you were in edit mode before you did the paste, so everything was done in the selected cell rather than going through Excel's normal import filter.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (8940) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Ignoring Paragraph Marks when Pasting.

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

Using the REPT Function

Excel includes a handy function that allows you to repeat characters or strings of characters. How you use the REPT ...

Discover More

Copying a Cell without Formatting

When you are copying a cell from one place to another (perhaps even to a different worksheet), you may not want to copy ...

Discover More

Spacing Before and After Lists

When formatting a document that uses lists, you may want to adjust the space that appears just before and just after the ...

Discover More

Program Successfully in Excel! This guide will provide you with all the information you need to automate any task in Excel and save time and effort. Learn how to extend Excel's functionality with VBA to create solutions not possible with the standard features. Includes latest information for Excel 2024 and Microsoft 365. Check out Mastering Excel VBA Programming today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Using the Fill Handle from the Keyboard

The fill handle can save a huge amount of time when you are editing a worksheet. If you are really good at using the ...

Discover More

Adjusting a Range's Starting Point

Select a range of cells, and one of those cells will always be the starting point for the range. This tip explains how to ...

Discover More

Disabling Dragging and Dropping

Excel allows you to easily paste information into a worksheet, including through simply dragging and dropping the ...

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.

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

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 7 + 9?

2021-03-13 05:23:04

Einat

But what if you have a table in word, with a few paragraphs in a single cell ?

2021-02-23 08:41:09

NormThib

You can also enter edit mode by clicking into the formula bar after clicking the cell to select it.

This Site

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.

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.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.