After you’ve entered values into one or more cells, you can copy the values and paste them into another cell, remove the values from the cells and paste them elsewhere, or just cut the values and leave them on the clipboard. Excel 2007 lets you control how the pasted values appear in your worksheet.
When you do paste data you’ve cut or copied from a cell, Excel displays an option button asking how you want to format the data you’re pasting. You can choose to have the data retain its original formatting, adopt the formatting of the cell in which you’re pasting the data, or paste the data without formatting.
When you cut or copy cells, you write a copy of the cells’ contents and formatting to the clipboard. When you paste the cells back into a worksheet, Excel pastes the values, formulas, and formatting associated with the cells. You’re not limited to such simple pasting behavior, however; you can choose to paste just the cell’s formula, just a formula’s result, paste everything except the cells’ borders, or even paste an image of the item that you can click to display the item you copied.
The following table lists the advanced paste options you can use.
Option | Action |
|---|---|
Paste | Performs the standard paste operation. |
Formulas | Pastes the formulas from the cells you copied. |
Paste Values | If the copied cell contains a formula, pastes the result of the formula into the target cell. |
No Borders | Pastes the contents of the copied cells without including any borders drawn around the cells. |
Transpose | Exchanges the rows and columns of the copied data. |
Paste Link | Creates a link to the copied item; does not create a new copy of the item. |
Paste Special | Displays the Paste Special dialog box. |
Paste as Hyperlink | Pastes a text hyperlink to the copied item. |
Paste as Picture Link | Pastes an image that, when clicked, activates a hyperlink to the copied item. |
Paste as Picture | Pastes an image of the copied item’s appearance (for example, pasting a picture of a chart doesn’t create a new chart). |
Copy as Picture | Copies an image of the selected item’s appearance to the clipboard. |
If you’re lucky, you won’t have to replace the data entry and formatting you’ve entered into a workbook; however, there might be times when you want to clear the data, formatting, or contents of a group of cells. Clearing is like cutting, but clearing differs because it always leaves the formatting in the cell from which you remove the data. When you clear a cell’s contents, you have the option of returning the cell to its original state.
When you work in Excel, you can take advantage of the flexibility that comes with its place in the Office suite by using the Office Clipboard. The Office Clipboard keeps track of the last 24 items you’ve cut or copied from any Office document. You can open the Office Clipboard and then paste any of its contents into your workbook. If an item resides on the Office Clipboard that you know you won’t use again, you can always remove it.
