Chapter 4: Working with Excel Ranges and Tables
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To disable this feature, choose File ➪ Options and click the Advanced tab. Remove the check mark
from the two options labeled Show Paste Options Button When Content Is Pasted and Show Insert
Options Buttons.Copying or moving by using drag-and-drop
Excel also enables you to copy or move a cell or range by dragging. Unlike other methods of
copying and moving, dragging and dropping does not place any information on either the
Windows Clipboard or the Office Clipboard.The drag-and-drop method of moving does offer one advantage over the cut-and-paste method: Excel warns you if
a drag-and-drop move operation will overwrite existing cell contents. Oddly, you do not get a warning if a drag-and-
drop copy operation will overwrite existing cell contents.
To copy using drag-and-drop, select the cell or range that you want to copy, press Ctrl, and
move the mouse to one of the selection’s borders. (The mouse pointer is augmented with
a small plus sign.) Then drag the selection to its new location while you continue to hold
down the Ctrl key. The original selection remains behind, and Excel makes a new copy
when you release the mouse button.To move a range using drag-and-drop, don’t press Ctrl while dragging the border.