EXCEL – Copy Without Losing Formatting

[INTERMEDIATE] Have you ever copied a column of data, pasted it somewhere else, and then noticed that you lost all the formatting you had set up for that column? For instance, if you had adjusted the column width or set up text wrapping within the cells, all of that was gone.

Don’t waste any more time reapplying all the settings you’ve “lost.” There are two easy ways to get it all back.

1. Format Painter
   a. Click on the letter of the column you want to copy such as “A” or “D” (This highlights the entire column)
   b. Click on the Format Painter icon (it’s the paint brush on the Standard toolbar)
   c. Click on the letter of the column you want to have the new formattingThe new information will now look just exactly like the original with all the bold, color, and shading that you set.
2. Paste Special

Another way of achieving the same result, but going about it in a different way is to use the “Paste Special” command.

a. Click on the column you want to copy
b. Select Edit, Copy (or right click and select Copy)
c. Highlight the column you want to reformat
d. Choose Edit, Paste Special (or right click and choose Paste Special)
e. Select the button : Formats

This “pastes” the formatting, but does NOT change any data that you have.

NOTE: Check out the other choices in Paste Special, such as column widths. This command lets you pick and choose which elements you want to “paste” from some other selection.