Using Microsoft Excel Efficiently: An Introduction to Paste Special

Learning how to copy and paste is one of the first skills most people master when they begin working with computer software. When I ask delegates what the keystrokes are for copy (Ctrl + C), or paste (Ctrl + V) someone will always shout out the answer without a moment's hesitation. But if you aren't using 'Paste Special' as well as 'Paste,' then you are missing out when it comes to Microsoft Excel.
The Paste Special menu is found on the Home ribbon in the Clipboard group. The Paste command is a two-part button. If you click on the top half (the icon) you will get the 'run of the mill' paste, but if you click on the bottom half of the button, you will get an entire menu of paste options including Paste Special.
You will also find Paste Special on the right-click menu.
The keyboard shortcut for Paste Special is Ctrl + Alt + V.
TIP: If the paste button is greyed out, you haven't copied anything. Choose cells and copy them in order to get the paste command to come to life.

In the newer versions of Excel, the ribbon command and right-click menu both bring up a host of paste icons. Although these give you the advantage of seeing a live preview of what that paste choice will give you if you click on it, I prefer to go straight to the Paste Special dialog box. I find this less confusing than the icons. For that reason, I prefer to use the keyboard shortcut. It takes you straight to the dialog box, so is much quicker than the mouse click options.

One of my favourite Paste Special options is Transpose. This changes a column of data into a row, or vice versa. Follow these directions to try it out.

1. Create a column of numbers in A1:A10
2. Add the dollar sign format to these cells (Home ribbon, Number group, $ command)
3. Change the colour of the font for this range of cells (Home ribbon, Font group, Font Color command)
4. Highlight and copy A1:A10
5. Click in cell C1 and then go to Paste Special (ribbon, right-click, shortcut)
6. Choose 'Transpose'
7. OK

Your list of numbers should now appear in C1:L1. Imagine the time you can save with this feature.
Many of the options that you see in the dialog box are self-explanatory, especially if you know the difference between formulas, values and formatting.

Values are numbers that you enter into cells and that can be used in calculations.
Formulas are calculations. They are built using the values in cells, or values added directly into the formula.

Formatting is the process of changing how the contents of cells look. Excel sees all data as either numbers, or text. You can dress the numbers up to make them look like money, dates, or percentages. You can also add font colours and styles.

Sometimes you want to take a formula and transform it into a value. It won't look any different in the cell, but it might behave differently. A number that comes from a formula based on values in other cells will return an error if you copy and then paste it into another worksheet. If you want to take the formula results and copy them somewhere else, you should use the Paste Special option to paste as 'Value.' This removes the formula and just leaves the resulting value.

Bearing in mind what it means to format cells, you can choose to paste with or without the existing formats. We added colour and number formats to the numbers in A1:A10, so you could have a play with the Paste Special options.

Take your pasting to the next level by using Paste Special.

Reen Rose is an empowerment expert who believes in aiding businesses of all sizes, by helping individuals and teams acquire the skills they need to be happy and successful in their work. She is an experienced Microsoft Certified Trainer, Microsoft Office Specialist Master and a Myers Briggs certified practitioner.

She has been described as 'focused, fun and very effective'.
To find out more about Reen and the training and corporate services she offers, please visit her website at http://www.ReenRose.com.

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