4 common ways to paste in Excel

Most people think of a simple Copy & Paste when they hear this…

but there is so much more to it.

Today we’re going to talk about 4 different ways in which I copy and paste data almost anytime I use an excel file

The simplest application of pasting is when you hit Paste, or Control + V

PASTE REGULAR

Here, excel will paste everything tied to the range you copied - IE your formula + values

The next most common paste I use is pasting values.

PASTE VALUES

This is especially relevant when I don’t want the formulas or formatting to carry over, or create a circular reference.

I utilize this keyboard shortcut by hitting ALT + H + V + V.

This one may be my favorite.

Here, you can paste just the formatting on a range, without affecting the values for formulas:

PASTE FORMATTING

Here I utilize the keyboard shortcut ALT + H + V + R

This one I use all the time when preparing presentations between excel and powerpoint:

PASTE AS PICTURE

Once I paste as a picture, I can then cut that picture, and plop it right into powerpoint.

I utilize the keyboard shortcut ALT + H + V + U

These are just 4 of my favorite ways to paste in excel…but there are countless other options.

To see them all, simply copy something, and hit the down arrow under the paste button on the home ribbon:

You can also hit the Paste Special button to see a list of all options:

As you can see, I’m a huge fan of utilizing keyboard shortcuts with these paste options.

You’ll see me talk time and time again about how much more quickly you can move through everything in excel when you master the keyboard.