Part I: Getting Started with Excel
Copying or moving consists of two steps (although shortcut methods are available):
- Select the cell or range to copy (the source range), and copy it to the Clipboard. To
move the range instead of copying it, cut the range instead of copying it.
- Select the cell or range that will hold the copy (the destination range), and paste
the Clipboard contents.
When you paste information, Excel overwrites any cells that get in the way without warning you. If you find that past-
ing overwrote some essential cells, choose Undo from the Quick Access toolbar (or press Ctrl+Z).
When you copy a cell or range, Excel surrounds the copied area with a thick-dashed border. As long as that border
remains visible, the copied information is available for pasting. If you press Esc to cancel the border, Excel removes
the information from the Clipboard.
Because copying (or moving) is used so often, Excel provides many different methods. We
discuss each method in the following sections. Copying and moving are similar operations,
so we point out only important differences between the two.
Copying by using Ribbon commands
Choosing Home ➪ Clipboard ➪ Copy transfers a copy of the selected cell or range to the
Windows Clipboard and the Office Clipboard. After performing the copy part of this opera-
tion, select the destination cell and choose Home ➪ Clipboard ➪ Paste.
Instead of choosing Home ➪ Clipboard ➪ Paste, you can just activate the destination cell
and press Enter. If you use this technique, Excel removes the copied information from the
Clipboard so that it can’t be pasted again.
If you’re copying a range, you don’t need to select an entire same-sized range before you
click the Paste button. You only need to activate the upper-left cell in the destination
range.
The Home ➪ Clipboard ➪ Paste control contains a drop-down arrow that, when clicked, gives you additional paste
option icons. The paste preview icons are explained later in this chapter (see “Pasting in special ways”).
