Simple Copy and Move Paste Special

Cut, Copy and Paste

Another, more flexible, way to copy or move a selection is to use cut, copy, and paste operations. These operations allow the user to copy or move selected cells to the clipboard buffer and then paste the contents of the clipboard buffer to a different location or a different workbook.

5.7.2.1. Cutting a Selection to the Clipboard

To cut a cell or a selection to the clipboard, you should select a cell or range of cells as described in Section 5.6 ― Selecting Cells and Cell Ranges and then use one of the following methods:

  • Use keyboard shortcut Ctrl+X.
  • Choose Cut from the Edit menu.
  • Click on Cut button in the toolbar.
  • Right-click on the selection and choose Cut from the context menu.
The selection will be copied to the clipboard buffer. To remind you of this, the border of the selection will be shown as "marching ants". The selection will be moved to a new location as soon as you choose Paste command as described below.

NOTE

Please note that the selection will remain in its current location until you paste it. If you want to delete a selection without pasting it to a new location, use Delete command instead.

5.7.2.2. Copying a Selection to the Clipboard

To copy a cell or a selection to the clipboard, you should select a cell or range of cells as described in Section 5.6 ― Selecting Cells and Cell Ranges and then use one of the following methods:

  • Use keyboard shortcut Ctrl+C.
  • Choose Copy from the Edit menu.
  • Click on Copy button in the toolbar.
  • Right-click on the selection and choose Copy from the context menu.
The selection will be copied to the clipboard buffer. To remind you of this, the selection will outlined by "marching ants" border. The selection will be copied to a new location as soon as you choose Paste command as described below.

5.7.2.3. Pasting the Clipboard

To paste the contents of the clipboard (i.e., previously cut or copied selection) to a new location, just click on a cell and use one of the following methods:

  • Use keyboard shortcut Ctrl+V.
  • Choose Paste from the Edit menu.
  • Click on Paste button in the toolbar.
  • Right-click on the cell and choose Paste from the context menu.
The contents of the clipboard will be pasted in the spreadsheet so that the selected cell becomes the top left corner of the selection. This will also copy the formatting of the original selection.

If you are pasting a selection which was copied to the clipboard buffer, all relative cell references in all formulas will change as described in Section 5.2.4.3 ― Cell Referencing. The selection remains in the clipboard buffer so that it can be pasted again. The original selection will remain outlined with "marching ants" border.

If you are pasting a selection which was cut to the clipboard buffer, all cell references in all formulas will remain unchanged. The original selection will be removed from the workbook and the clipboard buffer will be cleared.

Simple Copy and Move Paste Special