Excel 2010 For Dummies
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Excel 2010 displays a Paste Options button at the end of a pasted range right after you click the Paste button on the Home tab of the Ribbon or press Ctrl+V to paste cell entries that you copy (not cut) to the Clipboard. When you click this drop-down button or press the Ctrl key, a palette appears with three groups of buttons (Paste, Paste Values, and Other Paste Options).

Use the Paste Options button to control the content and formatting of pasted data.
Use the Paste Options button to control the content and formatting of pasted data.

You can use these paste options to control or restrict the type of content and formatting that's included in the pasted cell range. The paste options (complete with the hot key sequences you can type to select them) on the Paste Options palette include

  • Paste (P): Excel pastes all the stuff in the cell selection (formulas, formatting, you name it).

  • Formulas (F): Excel pastes all the text, numbers, and formulas in the current cell selection without their formatting.

  • Formulas & Number Formatting (O): Excel pastes the number formats assigned to the copied values along with their formulas.

  • Keep Source Formatting (K): Excel copies the formatting from the original cells and pastes this into the destination cells (along with the copied entries).

  • No Borders (B): Excel pastes all the stuff in the cell selection without copying any borders applied to its cell range.

  • Keep Source Column Widths (W): Excel makes the width of the columns in the destination range the same as those in the source range when it copies their cell entries.

  • Transpose (T): Excel changes the orientation of the pasted entries. For example, if the original cells' entries run down the rows of a single column of the worksheet, the transposed pasted entries will run across the columns of a single row.

  • Values (V): Excel pastes only the calculated results of any formulas in the source cell range.

  • Values & Number Formatting (A): Excel pastes the calculated results of any formulas along with all the formatting assigned to the labels, values, and formulas in the source cell range into the destination range.

  • Values & Source Formatting (E): Excel pastes the calculated results of any formulas along with all formatting assigned to the source cell range.

  • Formatting (R): Excel pastes only the formatting (and not the entries) copied from the source cell range to the destination range.

  • Paste Link (N): Excel creates linking formulas in the destination range so that any changes that you make to the cell entries in the source range are immediately brought forward and reflected in the corresponding cells of the destination range.

  • Picture (U): Excel pastes only a picture of the copied cell selection.

  • Linked Picture (I): Excel pastes a picture of the copied cell selection that is linked to the source cells.

The options that appear on the Paste Options palette may vary, depending upon the type of cell entries previously copied to the Office Clipboard. Additionally, you can access this same palette of paste options by clicking the Paste drop-down button on the Home tab of the Ribbon.

About This Article

This article is from the book:

About the book author:

Greg Harvey, PhD, is president of Mind Over Media, Inc. He is the author of all editions of Excel For Dummies, Excel All-in-One For Dummies, Excel Workbook For Dummies, and Windows For Dummies Quick Reference. He's also an experienced educator.

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