Copy and paste table in excel

Move or copy worksheets or worksheet data

You can move or copy a worksheet in the same workbook to organize your workbook exactly how you want.

Your browser does not support video. Install Microsoft Silverlight, Adobe Flash Player, or Internet Explorer 9.

You can use the Move or Copy Sheet command to move or copy entire worksheets (also known as sheets), to other locations in the same or a different workbook. You can use the Cut and Copy commands to move or copy a portion of the data to other worksheets or workbooks.

Move a worksheet within a workbook

  • Select the worksheet tab, and drag it to where you want it.

    Caution: When you move a sheet to another workbook, check any formulas or charts that refer to data on the sheet because moving the sheet might cause errors or produce unintended results in your data. Similarly, if you move a sheet that is referred to by 3-D references, the calculation might include or leave out data on the sheet.

Copy a worksheet in the same workbook

  • Press CTRL and drag the worksheet tab to the tab location you want.

OR

  1. Right click on the worksheet tab and select Move or Copy.

  2. Select the Create a copy checkbox.

  3. Under Before sheet, select where you want to place the copy.

  4. Select OK.

When you need to reorganize your data, you can easily change the order of sheets in a workbook, or move or copy a sheet to another workbook. But be aware that calculations or charts that are based on sheet data may become inaccurate if you move the sheet.

Move a sheet

  • Drag the sheet tab to the location that you want along the row of sheet tabs.

Copy a sheet

  1. Hold down OPTION.

  2. Drag the sheet tab to the location that you want the copied sheet to appear along the row of sheet tabs.

    Important: Release the mouse button before you release the OPTION key.

Move a sheet to another workbook

Caution: When you move a sheet to another workbook, check any formulas or charts that refer to data on the sheet because moving the sheet might cause errors or produce unintended results in your data. Similarly, if you move a sheet that is referred to by 3-D references, the calculation might include or leave out data on the sheet.

  1. Open the workbook that you want to move the sheet to.

  2. On the Window menu, click the workbook that contains the sheet that you want to move.

    Click the sheet that you want to copy to the other workbook.

  3. On the Edit menu, click Sheet > Move or Copy Sheet.

  4. On the To book menu, click the workbook that you want to move the sheet to.

    Tip: To create a new workbook that contains the moved sheet, click new book.

  5. In the Before sheet box, click the sheet that you want to insert the moved sheet before, or click move to end.

  6. Click OK.

Copy a sheet to another workbook

  1. Open the workbook that you want to copy the sheet to.

  2. On the Window menu, click the workbook that contains the sheet that you want to copy.

    Click the sheet that you want to copy.

  3. On the Edit menu, click Sheet > Move or Copy Sheet.

  4. On the To book menu, click the workbook that you want to copy the sheet to.

    Tip: To create a new workbook that contains the moved sheet, click new book.

  5. In the Before sheet box, click the sheet that you want to insert the copied sheet before, or click move to end.

  6. Select the Create a copy check box.

  7. Click OK.

Change the color of a sheet tab

Coloring the sheet tabs can help you keep track of your information in a large workbook.

  1. Hold down CONTROL and click the sheet tab.

  2. Click Tab Color, and then click the color that you want to use.

In Excel for the web, you can duplicate (or copy) worksheets within the current workbook. Simply right-click the tab name at the bottom of the sheet and click Duplicate.

Note: You may receive an error when you are trying to duplicate a worksheet that contains a chart, picture, or shape. If you get an error, you can duplicate the sheet manually.

If you have elements in your worksheet that interfere with duplicating it, you can still create a copy of the worksheet manually by copying all the data and pasting it into a new sheet. Here’s how:

  1. Select all the data in the worksheet.

    Keyboard shortcut: Press CTRL+Spacebar, on the keyboard, and then press Shift+Spacebar.

  2. Copy all the data on the sheet by pressing CTRL+C.

  3. Click the plus sign to add a new blank worksheet.

    Add new sheet button

  4. Click the first cell in the new sheet and press CTRL+V to paste the data.

    Note: You will lose any conditional formatting applied to the cells when you paste them into the new worksheet.

In Excel for the web, the option to move or copy a sheet isn’t available when you right-click a sheet tab, as it is in the Excel desktop application. In Excel for the web, you can achieve the same result by copying all of the data in the worksheet and pasting it into a blank worksheet in the other workbook.

Follow these steps to move or copy a worksheet to another workbook in Excel for the web:

  1. Select all the data in the worksheet.

    Keyboard shortcut: Press CTRL+Spacebar and then press Shift+Spacebar.

  2. Copy all the data on the sheet by pressing CTRL+C.

  3. Open the workbook in which you want to paste the data, then click the + in the status bar to add a new blank worksheet. 

    Add new sheet button

  4. Click the first cell in the new worksheet, then press CTRL+V to paste the data into that worksheet.

    Note: You will lose any conditional formatting applied to the cells when you paste them into the other workbook.

Need more help?

You can always ask an expert in the Excel Tech Community or get support in the Answers community.

Need more help?

See all How-To Articles

This tutorial demonstrates how to copy and paste a table in Excel and Google Sheets.

copy table intro

Copy and Paste a Table

  1. Select all the cells in the table you wish to copy.

copy table select

  1. Then, in the Ribbon, go to Home > Clipboard > Copy or press CTRL + C on the keyboard.

copy table copy

  1. Select the destination cell for your table, and, in the Ribbon, go to Home > Clipboard > Paste or press CTRL + V on the keyboard.

copy table paste

Note: When you click Paste (or CTRL + V), all formatting and formulas are also copied, and the formulas is automatically updated. If you don’t want the formatting or formulas, use Paste Special instead.

Copy and Paste Table in Google Sheets

Copying and pasting a table of data works the same way in Google Sheets as it does in Excel. You can use CTRL + C to copy and CTRL + V to paste (with all formatting and formulas).

copy table gs

Those who regularly work in Microsoft Excel often wonder how to copy the table data properly, retaining the format, formulas or their values.

How to paste a formula in an Excel table retaining the format? It’s possible to save a truckload of time solving this task. For this, we will use the function «Paste Special». It’s a simple tool that allows for solving complicated tasks quickly and mastering the basics of its usage. This unsophisticated tool is employed to quickly apply the same format to all tables and achieve the necessary result.



How to copy a table retaining column width and row height

Let’s assume we have a table, the format of which needs to be preserved when you copy it:

format of which needs.

When you copy it to a different spreadsheet using the usual Ctrl+C – Ctrl+V method, the result is far from desired:

Ctrl+C – Ctrl+V.

You will have to adjust the column width manually, whipping it into the convenient shape. If the table is large, you will be fiddling around for quite a while. However, there is a way to significantly reduce your loss of time.

Method 1. Using paste special

  1. Select the initial table that needs to be copied, and press Ctrl+C.
  2. initial table.

  3. Select the new (already copied) table, where you need to apply the column width format, and right-click on a cell. Find the line «Paste Special» (CTRL+ALT+V) in the drop-down menu.
  4. CTRL+ALT+V.

  5. In the dialog window, select the option «Column widths», and click «ОК».

Column widths.
Done.

The table now features the initial parameters and looks perfect.

Method 2. Selecting the columns before copying

This method has a secret: if you select the columns together with their headings before copying the table, the width of every column will also be copied when you paste it.

  1. Select the columns containing the initial data.
  2. initial data.

  3. Copy and paste to quickly obtain the desired result.

Done.

It’s rational to use each of the methods depending on the task. However, the second method allows to both quickly carry the table over together with the format, and copy the row height. Note that the paste special menu lacks the option “row height.” Thus, you will need to take the following steps to fulfill such a task:

  1. Select the all rows and column on sheet (CTRL+A).
  2. CTRL+A.

  3. Paste its copy below.

Paste its copy below.

Helpful hint! The quickest way to copy a large and complicated table retaining its column width and row height is to copy it as an entire sheet.

drag the tab of the sheet.

While holding the CTRL key, drag the tab of the sheet.



How to paste formula values retaining table format

Although the paste special tool is not perfect, you should not underestimate its capabilities. For example, let’s view how to copy the value of a formula into an Excel table retaining the cell format.

Step 1:

  1. Select the initial table containing the formulas and copy it.
  2. table containing the formulas.

  3. In the spot where you need to paste the range of values (without the formulas), select the «Values» option. Click OK.

Values.

Step 2:

Since the copied range is still in the clipboard after you copied it, proceed to open the paste special dialog again and select the option «Formats». Click OK.

Formats.

We have pasted the values of the formulas in the table retaining the cell format. As you might have guessed, you can also take a third step and copy the column width as described above.

example.

Microsoft Excel offers users virtually limitless possibilities for calculating the simplest functions and fulfilling a number of other tasks. The program allows you to set formats, save cell values, work with formulas, transfer and change them in a convenient way.

Содержание

  1. How to copy a table in Excel by saving the format cells
  2. How to copy a table retaining column width and row height
  3. Method 1. Using paste special
  4. Method 2. Selecting the columns before copying
  5. How to paste formula values retaining table format
  6. How to Copy Excel Table to MS Word (4 Easy Ways)
  7. Copy Paste Excel Table as Plain Text in MS Word
  8. Embed Excel Table into Word (as a Linked Object)
  9. Embed Excel Table into Word
  10. Copy Excel Table as a Satic Image
  11. Inserting Copied Table as a Static Image in Word
  12. Inserting Copied Table as a Linked Image in Word

How to copy a table in Excel by saving the format cells

Those who regularly work in Microsoft Excel often wonder how to copy the table data properly, retaining the format, formulas or their values.

How to paste a formula in an Excel table retaining the format? It’s possible to save a truckload of time solving this task. For this, we will use the function «Paste Special». It’s a simple tool that allows for solving complicated tasks quickly and mastering the basics of its usage. This unsophisticated tool is employed to quickly apply the same format to all tables and achieve the necessary result.

How to copy a table retaining column width and row height

Let’s assume we have a table, the format of which needs to be preserved when you copy it:

When you copy it to a different spreadsheet using the usual Ctrl+C – Ctrl+V method, the result is far from desired:

You will have to adjust the column width manually, whipping it into the convenient shape. If the table is large, you will be fiddling around for quite a while. However, there is a way to significantly reduce your loss of time.

Method 1. Using paste special

  1. Select the initial table that needs to be copied, and press Ctrl+C.
  2. Select the new (already copied) table, where you need to apply the column width format, and right-click on a cell. Find the line «Paste Special» (CTRL+ALT+V) in the drop-down menu.
  3. In the dialog window, select the option «Column widths», and click «ОК».

The table now features the initial parameters and looks perfect.

Method 2. Selecting the columns before copying

This method has a secret: if you select the columns together with their headings before copying the table, the width of every column will also be copied when you paste it.

  1. Select the columns containing the initial data.
  2. Copy and paste to quickly obtain the desired result.

It’s rational to use each of the methods depending on the task. However, the second method allows to both quickly carry the table over together with the format, and copy the row height. Note that the paste special menu lacks the option “row height.” Thus, you will need to take the following steps to fulfill such a task:

  1. Select the all rows and column on sheet (CTRL+A).
  2. Paste its copy below.

Helpful hint! The quickest way to copy a large and complicated table retaining its column width and row height is to copy it as an entire sheet.

While holding the CTRL key, drag the tab of the sheet.

How to paste formula values retaining table format

Although the paste special tool is not perfect, you should not underestimate its capabilities. For example, let’s view how to copy the value of a formula into an Excel table retaining the cell format.

  1. Select the initial table containing the formulas and copy it.
  2. In the spot where you need to paste the range of values (without the formulas), select the «Values» option. Click OK.

Since the copied range is still in the clipboard after you copied it, proceed to open the paste special dialog again and select the option «Formats». Click OK.

We have pasted the values of the formulas in the table retaining the cell format. As you might have guessed, you can also take a third step and copy the column width as described above.

Microsoft Excel offers users virtually limitless possibilities for calculating the simplest functions and fulfilling a number of other tasks. The program allows you to set formats, save cell values, work with formulas, transfer and change them in a convenient way.

Источник

How to Copy Excel Table to MS Word (4 Easy Ways)

When working with data in Excel, you would often have a need to copy some tables from Excel into an MS Word document.

While there is no built-in option in Excel to convert an entire Excel file to Word, you can easily copy and paste the data from an Excel document to Word.

In this tutorial, I will show you multiple ways to copy data from an Excel Worksheet into a Word document.

This Tutorial Covers:

Copy Paste Excel Table as Plain Text in MS Word

If all you want is to copy and paste a table from Excel to Word, you can do that with a simple copy paste.

It allows you to get the static table in Word, where you can then format it (and change it if you want).

The downside of this method is that in case there are any formulas in the data, that won’t work. And since this is static table, any changes you make in Excel will not get reflected in the table you copied to Word.

But in most cases, this is exactly what you want.

Let’s see how to do this.

Suppose you have a dataset as shown below and you want to copy this data from Excel and insert it into Word.

Below are the steps to do this:

  1. Select the data in Excel that you want to copy to Word
  2. Right-click and then click on Copy (or use the keyboard shortcut Control + C in Windows or Command + C in Mac)

  1. Open the Word document where you want to insert this data
  2. Place the cursor where you want this data in the Word document
  3. Go to the Home tab in Word and click on Paste (or use the keyboard shortcut Control + V)

The above steps would copy the data from Excel and paste it as a static table in the Word document.

Once you have the table in Word, you can format and work with it just like any other table that you insert in Word.

A couple of things to note when using this method:

  • If there are any formulas in the table in Excel, they won’t be copied. In my example, I have the formulas in the Total row, but when copied to Word, these are static values. If you make any changes to any data, you will have to manually adjust the formula values as well
  • If you don’t want to get copy the formatting from Excel and would rather want to use the formatting of the Word document, you can use the option Use Destination Style option. It shows up when you click on the Paste Options icon after you have pasted the table in Word.

Embed Excel Table into Word (as a Linked Object)

In the above method, we copied the data from Excel and inserted it as a static table into Word.

Another option that you can use is to copy and paste the table into a Word document and keep the two tables linked.

This way, if you make any changes in the Excel table that you copied, you will see that these are reflected in real-time in the table in Word as well.

This is quite useful when there is a possibility that you may have to update the data in Excel and it would also need to be updated in Word. By having the linked table, you only need to make changes in Excel data and these would automatically get reflected in the table you copied to Word.

Let me show you how this works.

Suppose you have a table as shown below and you want to copy it from Excel to MS Word and keep this linked.

Below are the steps to do this:

  1. Select the data in Excel that you want to copy to Word
  2. Right-click and then click on Copy (or use the keyboard shortcut Control + C)
  3. Open the Word document where you want to insert this data
  4. Place the cursor where you want this data in the Word document
  5. Go to the Home tab in Word and click on Paste drop-down (click on the small inverted arrow below the Paste Special icon)

  1. In the options that show up, click on Paste Special

  1. In the Paste Special dialog box, select the ‘Paste link’ option

  1. Select Microsoft Excel Worksheet Object from the listed options

The above steps would insert the copied table in Word, where it’s still linked to the original table in Excel.

Now, if you go and make any changes in the table in Excel, you will see that the same is reflected in the table in Word (in real-time).

If for some reason your data doesn’t update in real-time, right-click on the table and click on the ‘Update Link’ option

Here are some things you need to know about this method:

  • Since the two files are linked to each other, you will have to keep these together. If you’re sending the Word file to someone, you will also have to send them the Excel file, or the link would be broken and the data in Word would not update.
  • Whenever the Word file opens, it will check for any updates in the Excel table. This works even if the Excel file is closed.

This method is best suited for situations where you have a large Excel file that has a lot of calculations/data/dashboards. By using this method, you can only copy a small part of the Excel file, while still being able to update the table when values change in Excel.

Embed Excel Table into Word

This is a really useful feature that MS Word offers. It allows you to embed an Excel document as a part of the Word document.

In the above method, I showed you how to keep the Excel and Word files together and keep them linked.

In this section, I will show you how to embed the Excel file within the Word document, so you won’t have to keep both the files (and only keep the Word file).

In layman terms, it’s as if you can open and work on an Excel worksheet from within the Word Document.

Let me show you what I mean.

Suppose you have a table in Excel as shown below that you want to copy to Word.

Below are the steps to insert this as an Embedded Excel object in Word:

  1. Select the data in Excel that you want to copy to Word
  2. Right-click and then click on Copy (or use the keyboard shortcut Control + C)
  3. Open the Word document where you want to insert this data
  4. Place the cursor where you want this data in the Word document
  5. Go to the Home tab in Word and click on Paste drop-down (click on the small inverted arrow below the Paste Special icon)

  1. In the options that show up, click on Paste Special

  1. In the Paste Special dialog box, make sure the ‘Paste’ option is selected

  1. Select Microsoft Excel Worksheet Object from the listed options

The above steps would insert the copied data from Excel to MS Word.

But what actually happnes in the backend in MS Word is that it creates a new Excel file (which is a part of the Word document itself) and shows you the table from that file.

If you double click on the table, you will notice that it opens the Excel file (from within the Word document). You get to see the familiar Excel interface while still being in the Word document.

You can make any change and also use functionality such as conditional formatting, and that would be reflected in the table. Also, any formulas you have in place would continue to work.

The biggest benefit of using this method is that you don’t have to worry about two separate files. Unlike the previous method, in this method, the Excel file is a part of the Word document.

So, if you save the Word file or share it with someone else, the Excel file would remain with it and the data would remain intact.

On the downside, if you use multiple such tables or if the data is large, it will lead to a heavy Word document (as it has to also bear the weight of the embedded Excel file).

Copy Excel Table as a Satic Image

If you’re preparing a report and all you want is a really easy way to show some table (without any need to change the data), you can insert that data as an image.

Doing this is really easy and images are also easier to manage in Word (such as placement and resizing).

With copying an images, you also have an option to link the image to the table in Excel. This way, if you make any changes in Excel table, it would be reflected in the table image in Word.

Inserting Copied Table as a Static Image in Word

Suppose you have a table as shown below in Excel:

Below are the steps to copy this table and insert it as an image in MS Word:

  1. Select the data in Excel that you want to copy to Word
  2. Right-click and then click on Copy (or use the keyboard shortcut Control + C)
  3. Open the Word document where you want to insert this data
  4. Place the cursor where you want this data in the Word document
  5. Go to the Home tab in Word and click on Paste drop-down (click on the small inverted arrow below the Paste Special icon)
  6. In the options that show up, click on Paste Special

  1. In the Paste Special dialog box, make sure the ‘Paste’ option is selected

  1. Select ‘Picture’ from the listed options

The above steps would insert an image of the table in the Word document.

This is just like any other image and you can resize and format it.

Inserting Copied Table as a Linked Image in Word

If you like the flexibility of managing images in Word, and still want the table to be connected to the original Excel file, you can do that as well.

Suppose you have a table as shown below in Excel:

Below are the steps to copy this table and insert it as a linked image in MS Word:

  1. Select the table in Excel
  2. Right-click and then click on Copy (or use the keyboard shortcut Control + C)
  3. Open the Word document where you want to insert this data
  4. Place the cursor where you want this data in the Word document
  5. Go to the Home tab in Word and click on Paste Special

  1. In the Paste Special dialog box, select the ‘Paste Link’ option

  1. Select ‘Picture’ from the listed options

The above steps would again give you an image that you can easily resize and format.

But since this is linked to the original table in Excel, if you make any changes in the original table, these would also be reflected in the image.

Also, remember that since this image is linked to the original data, if you plan to share this Word document with someone else, you should also share the Excel File (in case you want the link to remain as is)

In case the excel file is not available or the name is changed, the image would be just like any other regular image.

So these are some of the ways you can use to copy a table for Excel and insert it into Word. In most cases, I prefer copying and pasting Excel tables as images, as these are easier to manage. In some cases, I also prefer the embed method which allows me to open the Excel file from within Word itself.

I hope you found this tutorial useful!

Other Excel tutorials you may also like:

Источник

When working with data in Excel, you would often have a need to copy some tables from Excel into an MS Word document.

While there is no built-in option in Excel to convert an entire Excel file to Word, you can easily copy and paste the data from an Excel document to Word.

In this tutorial, I will show you multiple ways to copy data from an Excel Worksheet into a Word document.

Copy Paste Excel Table as Plain Text in MS Word

If all you want is to copy and paste a table from Excel to Word, you can do that with a simple copy paste.

It allows you to get the static table in Word, where you can then format it (and change it if you want).

The downside of this method is that in case there are any formulas in the data, that won’t work. And since this is static table, any changes you make in Excel will not get reflected in the table you copied to Word.

But in most cases, this is exactly what you want.

Let’s see how to do this.

Suppose you have a dataset as shown below and you want to copy this data from Excel and insert it into Word.

Data to copy from Excel to Word

Below are the steps to do this:

  1. Select the data in Excel that you want to copy to Word
  2. Right-click and then click on Copy (or use the keyboard shortcut Control + C in Windows or Command + C in Mac)
Copy the data in Excel
  1. Open the Word document where you want to insert this data
  2. Place the cursor where you want this data in the Word document
  3. Go to the Home tab in Word and click on Paste (or use the keyboard shortcut Control + V)
Click the Paste option

The above steps would copy the data from Excel and paste it as a static table in the Word document.

Data copied to Word

Once you have the table in Word, you can format and work with it just like any other table that you insert in Word.

A couple of things to note when using this method:

  • If there are any formulas in the table in Excel, they won’t be copied. In my example, I have the formulas in the Total row, but when copied to Word, these are static values. If you make any changes to any data, you will have to manually adjust the formula values as well
  • If you don’t want to get copy the formatting from Excel and would rather want to use the formatting of the Word document, you can use the option Use Destination Style option. It shows up when you click on the Paste Options icon after you have pasted the table in Word.

Embed Excel Table into Word (as a Linked Object)

In the above method, we copied the data from Excel and inserted it as a static table into Word.

Another option that you can use is to copy and paste the table into a Word document and keep the two tables linked.

This way, if you make any changes in the Excel table that you copied, you will see that these are reflected in real-time in the table in Word as well.

This is quite useful when there is a possibility that you may have to update the data in Excel and it would also need to be updated in Word. By having the linked table, you only need to make changes in Excel data and these would automatically get reflected in the table you copied to Word.

Let me show you how this works.

Suppose you have a table as shown below and you want to copy it from Excel to MS Word and keep this linked.

Data to copy from Excel to Word

Below are the steps to do this:

  1. Select the data in Excel that you want to copy to Word
  2. Right-click and then click on Copy (or use the keyboard shortcut Control + C)
  3. Open the Word document where you want to insert this data
  4. Place the cursor where you want this data in the Word document
  5. Go to the Home tab in Word and click on Paste drop-down (click on the small inverted arrow below the Paste Special icon)
Click on Paste Special drop down
  1. In the options that show up, click on Paste Special
Click on Paste Special
  1. In the Paste Special dialog box, select the ‘Paste link’ option
Select Paste Link Option
  1. Select Microsoft Excel Worksheet Object from the listed options
Select Microsoft Excel Worksheet Object
  1. Click OK

The above steps would insert the copied table in Word, where it’s still linked to the original table in Excel.

Now, if you go and make any changes in the table in Excel, you will see that the same is reflected in the table in Word (in real-time).

If for some reason your data doesn’t update in real-time, right-click on the table and click on the ‘Update Link’ option

Here are some things you need to know about this method:

  • Since the two files are linked to each other, you will have to keep these together. If you’re sending the Word file to someone, you will also have to send them the Excel file, or the link would be broken and the data in Word would not update.
  • Whenever the Word file opens, it will check for any updates in the Excel table. This works even if the Excel file is closed.

This method is best suited for situations where you have a large Excel file that has a lot of calculations/data/dashboards. By using this method, you can only copy a small part of the Excel file, while still being able to update the table when values change in Excel.

Embed Excel Table into Word

This is a really useful feature that MS Word offers. It allows you to embed an Excel document as a part of the Word document.

In the above method, I showed you how to keep the Excel and Word files together and keep them linked.

In this section, I will show you how to embed the Excel file within the Word document, so you won’t have to keep both the files (and only keep the Word file).

In layman terms, it’s as if you can open and work on an Excel worksheet from within the Word Document.

Let me show you what I mean.

Suppose you have a table in Excel as shown below that you want to copy to Word.

Data to copy from Excel to Word

Below are the steps to insert this as an Embedded Excel object in Word:

  1. Select the data in Excel that you want to copy to Word
  2. Right-click and then click on Copy (or use the keyboard shortcut Control + C)
  3. Open the Word document where you want to insert this data
  4. Place the cursor where you want this data in the Word document
  5. Go to the Home tab in Word and click on Paste drop-down (click on the small inverted arrow below the Paste Special icon)
Click on Paste Special drop down
  1. In the options that show up, click on Paste Special
Click on Paste Special
  1. In the Paste Special dialog box, make sure the ‘Paste’ option is selected
Select the Paste option in Paste Special
  1. Select Microsoft Excel Worksheet Object from the listed options
Select Microsoft Excel Worksheet Object in Paste Special
  1. Click OK

The above steps would insert the copied data from Excel to MS Word.

But what actually happnes in the backend in MS Word is that it creates a new Excel file (which is a part of the Word document itself) and shows you the table from that file.

If you double click on the table, you will notice that it opens the Excel file (from within the Word document). You get to see the familiar Excel interface while still being in the Word document.

Excel Opens within Word Document

You can make any change and also use functionality such as conditional formatting, and that would be reflected in the table. Also, any formulas you have in place would continue to work.

The biggest benefit of using this method is that you don’t have to worry about two separate files. Unlike the previous method, in this method, the Excel file is a part of the Word document.

So, if you save the Word file or share it with someone else, the Excel file would remain with it and the data would remain intact.

On the downside, if you use multiple such tables or if the data is large, it will lead to a heavy Word document (as it has to also bear the weight of the embedded Excel file).

Copy Excel Table as a Satic Image

If you’re preparing a report and all you want is a really easy way to show some table (without any need to change the data), you can insert that data as an image.

Doing this is really easy and images are also easier to manage in Word (such as placement and resizing).

With copying an images, you also have an option to link the image to the table in Excel. This way, if you make any changes in Excel table, it would be reflected in the table image in Word.

Inserting Copied Table as a Static Image in Word

Suppose you have a table as shown below in Excel:

Data to copy from Excel to Word

Below are the steps to copy this table and insert it as an image in MS Word:

  1. Select the data in Excel that you want to copy to Word
  2. Right-click and then click on Copy (or use the keyboard shortcut Control + C)
  3. Open the Word document where you want to insert this data
  4. Place the cursor where you want this data in the Word document
  5. Go to the Home tab in Word and click on Paste drop-down (click on the small inverted arrow below the Paste Special icon)
  6. In the options that show up, click on Paste Special
Click on Paste Special
  1. In the Paste Special dialog box, make sure the ‘Paste’ option is selected
Select Paste when copying as Picture
  1. Select ‘Picture’ from the listed options
Select the Picture option
  1. Click OK

The above steps would insert an image of the table in the Word document.

This is just like any other image and you can resize and format it.

Inserting Copied Table as a Linked Image in Word

If you like the flexibility of managing images in Word, and still want the table to be connected to the original Excel file, you can do that as well.

Suppose you have a table as shown below in Excel:

Data to copy from Excel to Word

Below are the steps to copy this table and insert it as a linked image in MS Word:

  1. Select the table in Excel
  2. Right-click and then click on Copy (or use the keyboard shortcut Control + C)
  3. Open the Word document where you want to insert this data
  4. Place the cursor where you want this data in the Word document
  5. Go to the Home tab in Word and click on Paste Special
Click on Paste Special
  1. In the Paste Special dialog box, select the ‘Paste Link’ option
Click the Paste Link option
  1. Select ‘Picture’ from the listed options
Select the Picture option to paste
  1. Click OK

The above steps would again give you an image that you can easily resize and format.

But since this is linked to the original table in Excel, if you make any changes in the original table, these would also be reflected in the image.

Also, remember that since this image is linked to the original data, if you plan to share this Word document with someone else, you should also share the Excel File (in case you want the link to remain as is)

In case the excel file is not available or the name is changed, the image would be just like any other regular image.

So these are some of the ways you can use to copy a table for Excel and insert it into Word. In most cases, I prefer copying and pasting Excel tables as images, as these are easier to manage. In some cases, I also prefer the embed method which allows me to open the Excel file from within Word itself.

I hope you found this tutorial useful!

Other Excel tutorials you may also like:

  • How to Save Excel Charts as Images (save as PNG, JPG, BMP)
  • Microsoft Excel Won’t Open – How to Fix it! (6 Possible Solutions)
  • How to Quickly Copy Chart (Graph) Format in Excel
  • How to Copy Conditional Formatting to Another Cell in Excel
  • How to Copy and Paste Formulas in Excel without Changing Cell References
  • Copy and Paste Multiple Cells in Excel (Adjacent & Non-Adjacent)
Skip to content

How to Copy and Paste in Excel – Step-By-Step (2023)

How to Copy and Paste in Excel – Step-By-Step (2023)

Copy/pasting is something we have all known for ages now. But there’s so much more to the dynamic copy-paste tool of Excel than simple copying/pasting of values.

And the guide below will show you how resourceful the copy-and-paste tool of Excel can be. So let’s dive right in👇

Hold on! Download our sample workbook here to tag along with the guide.

How to copy and paste into Excel

Unlike any other spreadsheet program, Excel offers a huge variety of options for copying/pasting data.

You can paste anything – formulas, formatting, values, transposed values, and whatnot🖌

And the best part is that you can access a single option from multiple places, offering extra ease of use. So how do you copy and paste values in Excel? Let’s see below

Generally, there are three 3️⃣ ways in which you can copy/paste your data once you select a cell.

1. The clipboard group

The Clipboard section contains all the functions you need to copy and paste values in Excel. It sits in the Home tab of the ribbon.

The Paste function in Clipboard Section.

You can use the Scissors option to cut data and the Two Sheets option to copy the data✂

The Clipboard icon is the paste button that holds all the copied data. The Paint Brush icon below is known as the Format Painter, which lets you copy the formatting🖌

And the options don’t just end here – Click on the arrow in the bottom right corner to view more copy/paste options.

2. The right-click menu

You can access the context menu by right-clicking the cell you want to copy. The dropdown list will show you a bunch of options.

Choosing the Copy option from Context Menu.

Select Copy to make a copy of the selected cell in the clipboard. Once you copy a cell, a continuously moving border will enclose it.

Pro Tip!

You can also use CTRL + C to copy the data. It is the most common keyboard shortcut used in Excel and is very efficient.

Simply select the cell and press CTRL + C.

Then, select the destined cell and press CTRL + V to paste the copied contents into it 🥂

After you’ve copied the cell, navigate to the destination cell and paste it.

To paste the cell contents, right-click on the destination cell. From the context menu, select the option “Paste”📃

Choosing the Paste option from Context Menu.

3. The CTRL button

This method is quite similar to using CTRL + C, but not many people know it🤔

  1. Select the cell.
  2. Press the CTRL key.
  3. Hover over the cell until the plus sign appears.
  4. Hold and drag the cell to a new location.
  5. You get an exact copy of your original cell in the new location.

How to copy formulas only in Excel

So now we know the basics of copy-pasting in Excel.

But do you know how to copy and paste only formulas in Excel? We do it using a trick.

Let’s see an example below.

The data set we use below shows if the given condition is true or false.

Data set showing True and False values.

The function running behind these boolean values is the AND function. You can access it from the Formulas Tab 💻

The AND formula

Now let’s say we want to add another row at the bottom and copy the formula above it.

Copying formula to a new row

An easy way is to:

  1. Copy the formula above by selecting any cell that contains the formula and press CTRL + C.
  2. Right-click the cell where you want to paste the formula. A dropdown list will appear with the paste section like this ⏬
Choosing the paste options
  1. Click on the Paste Special commands option.
  2. From the Paste Special menu, select the Formulas and Number formatting option (hovering over the icons shows their names).

The formula will be pasted into the new cell, and the cell references will adapt accordingly.

Pasting the formula.

Similarly, if you want to copy the formula to multiple cells, you can do it using the Paste Special dialog box 💭

Launch the Paste Special Dialog box using the shortcut keys Alt + E + S.

Kasper Langmann, Microsoft Office Specialist
Multiple cell pasting options.

Simply select the Paste option you want to apply on the cell while pasting data. And since we are dealing with formulas, we will select the option “Formulas”.

How to make a copy of an Excel sheet

Making a copy of an Excel sheet may seem difficult with no options visible on the face of the worksheet. But believe us, it is just a click away.

Sheet 1 on the Sheet Tab.

Say, we want to make a copy of Sheet 1🧾

There are two ways to do this. First, use the right-click menu, and second, use the CTRL key.

The right-click context menu:

  1. Select the sheet you want to copy.
  2. Right-click the sheet and select the Move or Copy option.
Selecting copy option.
  1. You will see a pop-up asking for the location and whether you want to create a copy.
Creating a copy.
  1. Check the option to Create a Copy.

What happens if you don’t check the option to create a copy🤔

Excel will remove the sheet from the present workbook. And move it to the destination workbook.

Kasper Langmann, Microsoft Office Specialist
  1. Choose the pasting location from the To Book option.
  2. Click Ok.
The new worksheet appears.
  1. The subject worksheet appears in the chosen location💪

Using the CTRL key:

To copy a sheet using the Control key, follow the steps below:

  1. Select the sheet.
  2. Press the CTRL key.
  3. Drag the sheet to a new location to make its copy.

We have created a copy of Sheet 1 in the same book.

Copy of sheet created using CTRL.
  1. A new file, Sheet 1 (2), appears on the Sheet tab.

Copy values not formula

It’s time we see how to copy only the values in Excel and not the underlying formulas.

From the dataset below, let’s copy the cell values only 🔢

Copying the values.

To copy cell values, follow the steps below:

  1. Select the cell or the range of cells whose value is to be copied.
  2. Press Ctrl + C to copy the cell values.
  3. Go to the blank cells where you want to paste the selected range.
  4. Right-click the first cell and open the Paste Special dialog box.
  5. From the Paste Special options, select the Values option.

This tells Excel to paste the values of the copied cells only 🌟

Selecting the Values option.
  1. Click Okay. And there you go!
Excel pastes the values only

Values from the copied range appear in all the cells selected.

Note that Excel has pasted the exact values only. You can select the cell and view the formula bar to see that the values have no formulas to them.

Had you pasted them simply, Excel would have copied and adapted the formula of the copied cells for the destination cells as follows 😵

Excel pastes and adapts the formula

Shortcut to paste values

Oh, and there’s a very efficient shortcut to paste values in Excel too 💪

  1. Select the values to be copied.
  2. Press CTRL + C to copy them.
  3. Go to the destination cells to paste values. Select the first cell of the destination cell range.
  4. Press CTRL + Alt + V.
  5. Press V.
Using shortcut to select values option.
  1. Select Ok.
  2. You’d have the cell values pasted in Excel without any cursor movement 🖱

How to copy formatting

We have so far seen how to copy and paste formulas and values. Let’s now have a look at the copy-pasting of formatting.

Hint: It’s done the same way as formulas and values are copied/pasted✌

We are using the same data set for this example. And we want to paste the existing formatting to the new cells below.

Selecting cells to apply formatting.

To do so:

  1. Select the cells with the source formatting (the formatting that you want to copy) to copy them.
  2. Once copied, select the cell (or cells) where you want to paste the cell formatting🖱
  3. You can use the context menu to open the Paste Special dialog box and choose Formatting. Or press CTRL + Alt + V and then T to paste the formatting only.

The results look like this:

Pasting the formatting.

Note how Excel has pasted the format (including the font style and the font size) to the destined cells.

There is yet another way to copy cell formatting in Microsoft Excel – by using the Format Painter. We bet you didn’t see that coming😎

All you need to do is select the cells containing the source formatting. And click the Paintbrush icon on the ribbon to activate the Format Painter

Using the Format Painter to paste formatting.

With the format painter activated, select the cells where you want to paste the formatting.

And tada! The new cells are formatted like the source formatting.

Formatting pasted.

Pro Tip!

If you want to paste the formatting to a single cell or a range of adjacent cells only, click on the format painter once. In this case, the format painter will deactivate after painting the format once.

But, if you want to apply the source formatting to multiple non-adjacent cells, double-press the Format Painter icon. Now the format painter will stay active until you manually deactivate it 🎨

That’s it – Now what?

In this article, we learned how to copy and paste values and formulas in Excel. We also saw how we could paste cell formatting to a range of cells in a few easy steps.

And even though this article covers most of the aspects of the copy-paste tool in Excel, there’s still so much to learn.

Like the three most important functions of Excel. The VLOOKUP, IF, and SUMIF functions.

To learn these functions (and more!), enroll in my 30-minute free email course today.

Kasper Langmann2023-01-19T12:05:51+00:00

Page load link

Copying and pasting is a very frequently performed action when working on a computer. This is also true in Excel.

It’s so common that almost everyone knows the keyboard shortcuts to copy Ctrl + C and paste Ctrl + V.

When using this in Excel, it will copy everything including values, formulas, formatting, comments/notes, and data validation.

This can be frustrating as sometimes you’ll only want the values to copy and not any of the other stuff in the cells.

In this post, you’ll learn all the ways to copy and paste only the values from your Excel data.

Example Data

The example data used in this post contains various formatting.

  1. Cell formatting such as font color, fill color, number formatting, and borders.
  2. Notes.
  3. SUM formula.
  4. A data validation dropdown list.

Paste Special Keyboard Shortcut

If you want to copy and paste anything other than an exact copy, then you’re going to need to become familiar with paste special.

A favorite method to use this is with a keyboard shortcut.

To use the paste special keyboard shortcut.

  1. Copy the data you want to paste as values into your clipboard.
  2. Choose a new location in your workbook to paste the values into.
  3. Press Ctrl + Alt + V on your keyboard to open up the Paste Special menu.
  4. Select Values from the Paste option or press V on your keyboard.
  5. Press the OK button.

This will paste your data without any formatting, formulas, comments/notes, or data validation. Nothing but the values will be there.

Paste Special Legacy Keyboard Shortcut

This keyboard shortcut is a legacy shortcut from before the Excel ribbon command existed and it’s still usable.

In fact, when you try and use this you’ll be greeted with the above warning to let you know this is from an earlier version of Microsoft Office.

When you have a range of data copied to your clipboard, you can open up the Paste Special menu by pressing Alt + E + S on your keyboard.

Once the Paste Special menu is open you can then press V for Values.

One advantage the legacy shortcut has is it can easily be performed with one hand!

Paste Special Values Keyboard Shortcut

Pasting as values is a very common activity in Excel. Because of this, a new keyboard shortcut was introduced to Microsoft 365 users for this exact purpose.

Press Ctrl + Shift + V on your keyboard to paste the last item in your clipboard as values.

This is the most useful new shortcut as it bypasses the paste special menu entirely.

Paste Special from the Home Tab

If you’re not a keyboard person and prefer using the mouse, then you can access the Paste Values command from the ribbon commands.

Here’s how to use Paste Values from the ribbon.

  1. Select and copy the data you want to paste into your clipboard.
  2. Select the cell you want to copy the values into.
  3. Go to the Home tab.
  4. Click on the lower part of the Paste button in the clipboard section.
  5. Select the Values clipboard icon from the paste options.

The cool thing about this menu is before you click on any of the commands you will see a preview of the data you’re about to paste. This makes it easy to ensure you’re selecting the right option.

Paste Values with Hotkey Shortcuts

Since the paste values command is in the ribbon, that also means you can access it with the Alt hotkeys.

Notice when you press the Alt key, the ribbon lights up with all the accelerator keys available.

Pressing AltHVV will activate the paste values command.

Paste Values from Right Click Menu

Paste Values is also available from the right-click menu.

Copy the range of cells you want to paste as values ➜ right click ➜ select the paste values clipboard icon.

Paste Values with Quick Access Toolbar Command

If it’s a command you use quite frequently, then why not put it in the quick access toolbar?

This way it’s only a click away at all times!

Depending on where in the quick access toolbar you place it, it will also get its own easy to use Alt hotkey shortcut too.

Check out this post for details on how to add commands to the quick access toolbar, or this post on other interesting commands you can add to the quick access toolbar.

You can add the paste values command from the Excel Options screen.

  1. Select All Commands from the dropdown list.
  2. Locate and select Paste Values from the options. You can press P on your keyboard to quickly navigate to commands starting with P.
  3. Press the Add button.
  4. Use the Up and Down arrows to change the ordering of commands in your toolbar.
  5. Press the OK button.

The command will now be in your quick access toolbar!

If you place it in the 4th position like in this Example, then you can you Alt + 4 to access it with a keyboard shortcut.

Paste Values Mouse Trick

There’s a mouse option you can use to copy as values which most people don’t know about.

  1. Select the range of cells to copy.
  2. Hover the mouse over the active range border until the cursor turns into a four directional arrow.
  3. Right-click and drag the range to a new location.
  4. When you release the right click, a menu will pop up.
  5. Select Copy Here as Values Only from the menu.

This is such a neat way, and there are a few other options in this hidden menu that are worth exploring.

Paste Values with Paste Options

There’s another sneaky method to paste values.

When you do a regular copy and paste, a small icon will appear in the bottom right corner of the pasted range. It will remain there until you interact with something else in your spreadsheet.

These are the paste options and you can click on it or press Ctrl to expand the options menu.

When you open the menu, you can then either click on the Values icon or press V to change the range into values only.

Paste Values and Formulas with Text to Columns

I don’t really recommend using this method, but I’m going to add it just for fun.

A few caveats with this method.

  • You can only copy and paste one column of data.
  • It will keep any formulas.
  • It will remove the formatting, comments, notes, and data validation.

If that’s exactly what you’re looking for, then this method might be of interest.

Select a single column of data ➜ go to the Data tab ➜ select the Text to Column command.

This will open up the Convert Text to Column Wizard. In the first step, you can select Delimited and press the Next button.

You can also select Fixed width as we won’t be using the text to column functionality it doesn’t really matter.

In the next step, remove any selected delimiters and press the Next button.

In the last step, select the destination cell for the output and press the Finish button.

You can see the results have all the formatting gone but any formulas still remain.

Paste Values with Advanced Filters

This one is another not-quite paste values option and is listed for fun as well.

It will remove any formulas, comments, notes, and data validation but will leave all cell formatting.

With your data selected go to the Data tab then select the Advanced command in the Sort and Filter section.

From the Advanced Filter Menu.

  1. Select Copy to another location.
  2. Leave the Criteria range empty.
  3. Select a location to place the copied data.
  4. Press the OK button.

This will create a copy of the data as values and remove any formulas, comments, notes, and data validation.

You can then remove the cell formatting that’s left by going to the Home tab ➜ Clear ➜ and selecting the Clear Formats option.

Conclusions

Wow! That’s a lot of different ways to paste data as values in Excel.

It’s understandable there are so many options given it’s an essential action to avoid carrying over unwanted formatting.

You’re eventually going to need to do this and there are quite a few ways to get this done.

What’s your favorite way? Did I miss any methods you use? Let me know in the comments!

About the Author

John MacDougall

John is a Microsoft MVP and qualified actuary with over 15 years of experience. He has worked in a variety of industries, including insurance, ad tech, and most recently Power Platform consulting. He is a keen problem solver and has a passion for using technology to make businesses more efficient.

Home / Excel Basics / How to Copy and Paste a Column in Excel

Copying the data is a very frequent task in our day-to-day lives while working in Excel or any other word processing software. Usually, we have to copy a single cell from one place to another or even sometimes in a different worksheet also. It is very easy to do.

But when it comes to copying multiple continuous cells as well as non-adjacent cells then we all find ourselves in very big trouble.

In this tutorial, we will learn methods to copy the single or multiple (continuous, and non-continuous) columns. Now, let’s go through it step-by-step.

  1. First, select the entire column from its Column Header Letter on the top of it that you want to copy.
  2. Then, press the right-click button on the mouse and select the “Copy” option from the pop-up box.
    1-copy-paste-single-column
  3. After this, select the range of cells of that particular column where you wish to “Paste” your data.
  4. Once you are selecting the range, click on the right key of the mouse and choose the paste option from it.
    2-paste-single-column

Copying the Column by using a Keyboard Shortcut

Here’s an easier way to copy and paste the data by using the keyboard shortcut instead of doing it manually.

  1. First of all, click on any cell of the column that you want to copy.
  2. From here, select the entire column by holding the shortcut key that is (Control + Spacebar).
  3. Next, you can copy the selected column by pressing the Control + C button on the keyboard.
  4. Now, you’ll see that column is highlighted, and then paste it by using the Control + V.

Related ➜ Keyboard Shortcuts for Excel (PDF Cheatsheet)

Copy and Paste Multiple Adjacent Columns

If you want to copy multiple columns of the spreadsheet at the same time, you can do this. Here, below are the steps.

  1. Select the multiple columns in a sequence with the left key of your mouse by the column header.
  2. Next, right-click on the selected columns.
  3. Click on the “Copy” option from the dialog box to select the entire data.
    3-copy-multiple-adjacent-rows-1
  4. Now, you’ll see that column is highlighted, and then paste it by using the Control + V.
    4-paste-multiple-adjacent-columns

Important Note: Make sure that you have enough blank columns where you would like to paste your data or in case you already have something in that range of cells, then it would be overwritten.

Copy Multiple Non-Adjacent Columns

The simplest way to copy multiple non-adjacent columns is by using the CTRL key. Let’s do it stepwise.

  1. In your worksheet, select the first column by clicking on its header.
  2. After that, click on the next columns one by one that you want to highlight by holding down the Control key.
  3. Following this, right-click on any of the selected columns and choose “Copy” from the dialog box.
    5-copy-multiple-non-continous-rows
  4. Now, you’ll see all the selected columns have been highlighted on the sheet.
  5. In the end, select the destination cell where you would like to paste your data and by pressing Control + V you can paste it.
    6-paste-multiple-non-continous-rows

Copy and Paste the column is from the Ribbon

It is an interesting thing to know that you can also copy and paste the values from the ribbon. Let’s do it by the following steps:

  1. First, select all the columns that you wish to copy.
  2. Then, go to the Home tab and from the Clipboard> choose Copy or either use (Ctrl + C) from the keyboard to copy the columns.
    7-copy-through-ribbon
  3. Select the particular cell where you wish to paste your data.
  4. And then, click on the paste from the Ribbon or you can use the shortcut that is (Ctrl + V).
    8-paste-option-through-ribbon

So, these are the ways by which you can copy and paste columns in excel.

Moreover, if you want to copy multiple non-adjacent columns then you can use the third method for this.

Along with this, the above-given shortcut of copy and paste will help you to compile your data as soon as possible.

Working with spreadsheets has become part of our day-to-day office activities. We are often required to copy and paste certain data from one cell to another. In some cases, we have to copy a column and paste its contents in another column. In this post, we shall learn how copy and paste columns.

Using keyboard shortcut to copy and paste

MS Excel has a number of ways through which we can transfer data from one column to another. One among them is the use of keyboard shortcut to copy and paste a column.

Procedure of how to copy multiple cells using keyboard shortcut

We can copy and paste column data using the procedure below;

Step 1: highlight the column or cells you want to copy and paste

If we are to transfer the data in an entire column, we have to first highlight it. We highlight by simply clicking at the top of the column that we want to copy. This will highlight the entire column.

Figure 1: Highlighting the column to copy paste

Step 2: Press Ctrl + C to copy column

After highlighting the column we want to copy and paste, the next thing to do is to press Ctrl + C buttons on the keyboard. This shortcut will copy the cells in the column. After copying, we now have to paste the data in a different column.

Step 3: Press Ctrl + V to paste

Before we paste the data in a column, we first have to highlight it as well. Remember that the copied data is held in the Excel clipboard, so it can easily be pasted in another column. After highlighting the column that we want to paste, we have to press Ctrl + V on the keyboard. This will paste the data into the column.

How to copy paste multiple cells

Apart from copying and pasting entire column, we might also be required to copy and paste multiple cells without having to transfer the data of the whole column. To do this, we need to highlight the cells that we want to copy and paste their contents.

To copy individual cells, we need to highlight the cells by clicking on them while holding the Ctrl button.

Figure 2: Highlighting individual cells

After highlighting the cells that we want to copy and paste, the next thing will be to use Ctrl + C to copy them. Go to the column where we want to paste the data, highlight the cells and press Ctrl + V to paste the data.

We can also copy and paste a column by highlighting it through selecting any cell in the column, press Ctrl key then hit Spacebar. After highlighting, we then have to right-click anywhere within the highlighted column, and choose Copy.

Figure 3: Select Copy from pop-up menu

The next thing will be to highlight the column in which we want to paste the contents, right-click anywhere within the column and choose Paste.

Figure 4: Select Paste from the menu.

Instant Connection to an Expert through our Excelchat Service

Most of the time, the problem you will need to solve will be more complex than a simple application of a formula or function. If you want to save hours of research and frustration, try our live Excelchat service! Our Excel Experts are available 24/7 to answer any Excel question you may have. We guarantee a connection within 30 seconds and a customized solution within 20 minutes.

Понравилась статья? Поделить с друзьями:
  • Copy and paste cells in excel
  • Copy and complete the word
  • Copy all worksheets in excel
  • Copy all word files
  • Copy all visible cells excel