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: Copying Subtotals.

Copying Subtotals

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 19, 2023)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


Excel has a handy feature that allows you to automatically add subtotals to a data list. (How to create subtotals is covered in other issues of ExcelTips.) You may be wondering, once the subtotals are in place, how you can copy the subtotals to a different worksheet. This is actually rather easy to do, if you follow these steps:

  1. Add your worksheet subtotals as you normally would.
  2. Collapse the information in the list so that only the subtotals are showing. (Click on the small 2 in the outline levels shown at the top of the gray area at the left of the worksheet.)
  3. Select the range of cells containing the subtotals you want to copy. (Do not select complete rows or columns; just select the range of cells.)
  4. Press F5. Excel displays the Go To dialog box.
  5. Click on Special. Excel displays the Go To Special dialog box. (See Figure 1.)
  6. Figure 1. The Go To Special dialog box.

  7. Make sure the Visible Cells Only option is selected.
  8. Click on OK. Excel selects just the visible information from the range you specified in step 3.
  9. Press Ctrl+C to copy the rows to the Clipboard.
  10. Select the cell where you want to paste the subtotals.
  11. Press Ctrl+V to paste the information.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (10677) 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: Copying Subtotals.

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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