In addition to copying the entire contents of a cell or range, Excel also lets you cherry pick and copy only what you want.
To access this:
first select what you want to copy
copy it
select where you want to copy it
then either right click your mouse or from the edit menu, select paste special
Here is what you get in the XP version of Excel. This has a few more choices than the prior version. Another reason for upgrading.
Here are some of the ones you might use most often:
Formulas- when you want to copy the formula but don't want to copy the formats
Values- one you many use most of all; use when copying the formula would not apply, but the values are useful.
Formats- when you just want to copy the formats
All Except Borders- when you want to copy everything except the borders that you have around the cell. For example, you might have a cell from the last column where you have a border that you want to copy to the middle. If you just do a straight copy, you will have a lonely border in the middle of your worksheet.
Column widths- easier to do this using the Paintbrush icon, so we never use it from here
Formulas and number formats- a bonus in XP- you can paste two things at once.
Values and number formats- similar to above
If you are using an earlier version of Excel, it will not offer some of the last couple combinations mentioned. You will have to do it in two steps. First paste the formulas or values, then paste the formats (you don't have to recopy- you can do multiple pastes from the same copy).
Another use for the values option is when you are distributing your work. You might not want anyone to make changes, or you may have links that you don't want included (XP offers an easier way to turn this off). What you can do in this case is:
Save your work as a new file
Copy the entire worksheet
Paste the worksheet right where it is, as values only (you already have it formatted). That will wipe out all the formulas.
We will cover the operations section in another lesson and show you some good tricks from that.
Take your Excel skills up a step beyond straight copying. Once you have it down how to do special pastes, you will save yourself time. You also may think of more creative things to do with your worksheets having this skill.