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: Trouble Recording Paste Special Formula.

Trouble Recording Paste Special Formula

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 16, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

2

Joan ran into a problem on a new computer system she got. On an older system she had a macro that would essentially perform "Paste Special—Formula." When she tried to record the same macro on her new system, Excel generated an error message and wouldn't record the macro.

It's unclear why Excel would be generating an error message when trying to record such a simple macro. We were able to record the steps with no problem. It could be that the error is related, somehow, to the conditions existing when trying to do the recording. For instance, the Clipboard may not actually contain a formula that could be pasted, or you could be trying to paste in a protected worksheet.

Be that as it may, it is just as easy to create a Paste Special—Formula macro from scratch. The following is the same as what would have been recorded by the Macro recorder, and it can be entered directly into a macros module in the VBA Editor:

Sub PasteFormulas()
    Selection.PasteSpecial Paste:=xlPasteFormulas, _
      Operation:=xlNone, SkipBlanks:=False, _
      Transpose:=False
End Sub

Note that the macro has only a single line to do the actual pasting. In order to use it, simply copy some cells to the Clipboard, select where you want the formulas pasted, and then run the macro. You can assign it to a shortcut key to make using it even easier.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the ExcelTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (10429) 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: Trouble Recording Paste Special Formula.

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. ...

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What is four more than 4?

2021-10-17 09:57:33

J. Woolley

I guess I missed the point of this Tip. It is about the macro recorder, not that anyone would actually want a PasteFormulas macro. If you really want to PasteFormulas, you can simply right-click the target and pick from Paste Options.

2021-10-16 10:30:36

J. Woolley

Or you can right-click the Quick Access Toolbar and pick Customize Quick Access Toolbar > Commands Not in the Ribbon > Paste Formulas > Add.

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