Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 5, 2025)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Excel in Microsoft 365
If you want to copy the contents of a cell without formatting, you can easily do so by using the Paste Special feature of Excel. Simply follow these steps:
In step 5 you could have chosen one of the Paste Values options, but Excel would not have transferred any formulas. Instead, it would have pasted the results of formulas, as if they were static values. In other words, to truly copy cell contents, you must use the Formulas option.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (9045) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Copying a Cell without Formatting.
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2025-07-05 08:26:40
Alex Blakenburg
Typically when you copy cells without formatting you still want dates to be recognisable as dates and numbers especially things like percentages to still be easy to read. The paste special option "and number formats" preserves this type of formatting and is highly under utilised.
There is "Values and number formats" and in this case a "Formulas and number formats" option.
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