Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Excel in Microsoft 365, 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 to Very Large Ranges.

Copying to Very Large Ranges

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 27, 2023)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Excel in Microsoft 365, and 2021


Chris wonders if there is a fast way to copy a cell to a very large range. He knows how to use the mouse to scroll in order to select the target range, but if he's copying to thousands (or tens of thousands) of cells, it takes an awfully long time to scroll through screen after screen.

Using the mouse to select large ranges of cells is cumbersome, at best. There are much easier ways to select large ranges, and these selection methods can be used to easily copy values to those large ranges.

Let's say that you have a value in cell A3 and you want to copy it to a large range, such as C3:C99999. The easiest way to do the copy is to follow these steps:

  1. Select cell A3.
  2. Press Ctrl+C to copy its contents to the Clipboard.
  3. Click once in the Name box, above column A. (Before you click, the Name box contains "A3," which is the cell you just copied.)
  4. Type C3:C99999 and press Enter. The range is selected.
  5. Press Ctrl+V.

Easy, huh? A similar approach to selecting large ranges could also be used with the Go To box, in this manner:

  1. Select cell A3.
  2. Press Ctrl+C to copy its contents to the Clipboard.
  3. Press F5 to display the Go To dialog box. (See Figure 1.)
  4. Figure 1. The Go To dialog box.

  5. In the Reference box type C3:C99999.
  6. Click OK. The range is selected.
  7. Press Ctrl+V.

If you ever find yourself needing to copy to very large ranges using a macro, you can do so using a single command. To copy only the value from A3 to the range C3:C99999, you would use the following:

Range("C3:C99999") = Range("A3").Value

If you instead wanted to copy both values and formats to the large range, then you could use this command:

Range("A3").Copy Destination:=Range("C3:C99999")

Regardless of how you perform your copying task, make sure you are patient. Depending on what you are copying, it can take quite a while for the operation to complete. If you are copying a formula to such a large range, then it can take very long as Excel performs the thousands of new calculations you've required of it.

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 (12449) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Excel in Microsoft 365, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Copying to Very Large Ranges.

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

Protecting Hidden Text

Formatting some of your text as hidden can be a great help when you need to keep some things from being viewed or ...

Discover More

Hiding Graphics

Do you need a printout where graphics can be turned on and off? This tip provides some concrete ways you can get just ...

Discover More

Default Formatting for PivotTables

Wish there was a way to define how you want PivotTables formatted before you actually create the PivotTable? You may be ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Understanding Auto-Population of Cells

Auto-population of your formulas can be a useful tool when you are adding data to your worksheets. It would be even more ...

Discover More

When Clicking a Cell, Excel Jumps to a Different Cell

When you click on a cell, you expect the cell to be selected. What happens, though, if you are instead taken to an ...

Discover More

Three-Dimensional Transpositions

Excel makes it easy to transpose your data so that rows become columns and columns rows. It doesn't have a built-in ...

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.

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 2 + 2?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


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.