Using Paste Special in Excel 2007
Microsoft Office Excel 2007 normally copies all the information in the range of cells you select when you paste the data. Use Excel's Paste Special command to specify other options, such as pasting only the cell contents (without the formatting) or only the formatting (without the cell contents).
To paste particular parts of a cell selection, click the drop-down button that appears at the bottom of the Paste command button on the Ribbon’s Home tab. Then, click Paste Special on its drop-down menu to open the Paste Special dialog box.
Paste only some of a copied or cut cell's properties with Paste Special.
You can specify which parts of the current cell selection to use by selecting the appropriate Paste Special options:
All to paste all the stuff in the cell selection (formulas, formatting, you name it). this is what happens when you paste normally.
Formulas to paste all the text, numbers, and formulas in the current cell selection without their formatting.
Values to convert formulas in the current cell selection to their calculated values.
Formats to paste only the formatting from the current cell selection, without the cell entries.
Comments to paste only the notes that you attach to their cells (kinda like electronic self-stick notes).
Validation to paste only the data validation rules into the cell range that you set up with the Data Validation command.
All Using Source Theme to paste all the information plus the cell styles applied to the cells.
All Except Borders to paste all the stuff in the cell selection without copying any borders you use there.
Column Widths to apply the column widths of the cells copied to the Clipboard to the columns where the cells are pasted.
Formulas and Number Formats to include the number formats assigned to the pasted values and formulas.
Values and Number Formats to convert formulas to their calculated values and include the number formats you assigned to all the copied or cut values.
You can also perform some math when you paste based on the value(s) in the copied or cut cell(s) and the value in the target cell(s):
None: Excel performs no operation between the data entries you cut or copy to the Clipboard and the data entries in the cell range where you paste. This is the default setting.
Add: Excel adds the values you cut or copy to the Clipboard to the values in the cell range where you paste.
Subtract: Excel subtracts the values you cut or copy to the Clipboard from the values in the cell range where you paste.
Multiply: Excel multiplies the data you cut or copy to the Clipboard by the data entries in the cell range where you paste.
Divide: Excel divides the data you cut or copy to the Clipboard by the data entries in the cell range where you paste.
Finally, at the bottom of the Page Special dialog box, you have a few other options:
Selecting the Skip Blanks check box tells Excel only to paste from those cells that aren't empty.
Selecting the Transpose check box 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.
Clicking the Paste Link button establishes a link between the copies you’re pasting and the original entries. That way, changes to the original cells automatically update in the pasted copies.
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A feature that looks at the entries that you make in a worksheet column and automatically duplicates them in subsequent rows whenever you start a new entry that begins with the same letter or letters as an existing entry in that column.
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AutoCorrect
A feature that alerts Excel 2007 to common typing errors and your own typing errors (that you specify) and tells the program how it should automatically fix them for you.
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AutoFill
An Excel 2007 feature that quickly creates a series of entries based on the data you enter in one or two cells. AutoFill works with days of the week, months of the year, yearly quarters; consecutive series of numbers; and formulas. You also can add your own custom AutoFill series.
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Backstage view
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cell
The intersection of a column and row in the worksheet.
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cell address
The cell identifier, determined by its column letter(s) followed by the row number, as in cell A1, the very first cell of each worksheet at the intersection of column A and row 1.
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cell cursor
The black border that surrounds the active cell in a worksheet.
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clip art
Readymade drawings, illustrations, and photos offered by Microsoft for use in Microsoft Office applications.
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Compatibility Checker
A utility in Excel 2007 and 2010 that you use to find potential compatibility issues if you plan to save an Excel workbook file in the older Excel 97–2003 file format.
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current cell
The worksheet cell that contains the cell cursor. Each worksheet can have only one current cell.
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data table
A range of cells in a worksheet in which you enter a series of possible values that Excel plugs into a formula so you can perform what-if analysis on the data.
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dialog box
A rectangular window with settings and commands that appears when you click a dialog box launcher or certain other commands on the Ribbon.
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dialog box launcher
A small icon in the lower-right corner of a group of command buttons on the Ribbon that you click to access a dialog box with additional related settings and commands.
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function
A part of a formula that takes a number of specific arguments and then returns a single value based on those arguments.
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gallery
A drop-down list of thumbnail selections that appears when you click certain command buttons on the Ribbon.
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A section of a tab on the Excel 2007 Ribbon that organizes related command buttons into subtasks normally performed as part of the tab's larger core task. The name of a group appears at the bottom of the group, such as the Font group on the Home tab.
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hyperlink
Specially formatted text that anyone can click to jump to Web sites, move to other cells or workbooks, or create an e-mail message.
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keyboard shortcuts
A combination of keys that you can press to execute certain commands, as opposed to finding and clicking the commands' buttons on the Ribbon or elsewhere.
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Live Preview
A feature in Excel 2007 that enables you to point to thumbnails on a drop-down gallery to see how a new font, font size, table style, or cell style would look on your selected data before you actually apply it.
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macro
A series of commands or actions in Excel that are recorded and saved together in a file. You can run the macro whenever you need to perform the task.
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The left-most section of the Formula bar that displays the address or name of the current cell.
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A special type of table unique to Excel 2007 that enables you to summarize large amounts of data and pivot or rearrange the table's data to display different summaries of the information it contains.
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Ribbon
A new feature of the Excel 2007 interface that replaces the menus and toolbars of previous versions; appears at the top of the Excel window, just below the title bar.
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ScreenTip
A small window that displays descriptive text when you point to but don't click a command on the Ribbon or other objects in a worksheet.
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Small tabs near the bottom of a worksheet that you click to move between the worksheets in a workbook. You can assign descriptive names to sheet tabs.
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A type of graphic object in Excel 2007 that gives you the ability to quickly and easily construct graphical lists and diagrams in the worksheet.
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sparklines
Tiny graphs (miniature charts) that fit within a single cell in the worksheet, used to show basic trends in data.
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A horizontal bar that appears at the bottom of the Excel 2007 window and keeps you informed of Excel's current mode. In addition, you can use the Status bar to select a new worksheet view and to zoom in and out on the worksheet.
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tabs
The various "pages" of Excel 2007's Ribbon interface that you click to display command buttons relating to the tab's name, such as Page Layout and Formulas.
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template
A pre-designed worksheet that can be used as a basis for creating new worksheets.
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WordArt
Stylized text objects that you use to add pizzazz and emphasis to headings and other text in Excel 2007 worksheets.
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workbook
The basic file type that you create when you use Excel 2007. A new workbook consists of three worksheets by default.
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worksheet
The main document that you work in when you enter data into cells within Excel 2007. A worksheet is stored in a workbook file.
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worksheet area
The portion of an Excel 2007 worksheet in which you enter cell data and add objects such as charts and graphics.
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XPS XML Paper Specification
A file format developed by Microsoft that enables people to open and print documents in XPS Reader without access to the original programs with which the documents were created (such as Excel).
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Zoom slider
An object on the Status bar in Excel 2007 that enables you to increase the magnification in a worksheet or shrink it down to get an overall picture of the worksheet data.
