How to Copy Values in Excel [Not the Formula]

If you want to copy/paste only the value of a cell rather than the formula, it is relatively easy to do. If the cell includes formatted text or conditional formatting, the process changes, but it is still an easy task. Let’s get started.

Shortcut Method: Select the formula cell, press “F2” and then press “F9,” followed by “Enter” to convert the formula to value.

How to Copy/Paste Values Without the Formula in Excel

Whether you want to copy/paste numbers, letters, characters, symbols, or a combination from one formula cell or several, the process is the same. The shortcut method above only allows one cell at a time. Here’s how to copy/paste values instead of formulas in bulk.

1. Select the formula cell(s) with the value(s) you want to copy.
   
2. Right-click on the selected cell(s) and choose “Copy.”
   
3. Right-click on the destination cell(s), then click on the “pullout arrow” next to the “Paste Special…” option. If it doesn’t appear, recopy the formula cell(s) and try again.
   
4. In the pullout menu, go to the “Paste Values” section and click “Values.”
   
5. Confirm that Excel copied the value and not the formula.
   

Instead of pasting a formula in the cells when using the steps above, you now get the values only, and you can do this process in bulk to save time.

How to Copy/Paste Value from Cells with Conditional Formatting

Like the previous example, you’ll need to use the “Paste Special…” option, unless you want to use the “Format Painter” option. To copy and paste cells that have conditional formatting, choose from the following two processes.

Option 1: Use Paste Special

1. Select the range of cells with the conditional formatting you want to copy.
   
2. Right-click on the selected range and click Copy (or use Ctrl + C for this step).
   
3. Select the range of cells where you want to paste the conditional formatting and then click on the Paste Special… option. Don’t click the pullout arrow if it appears.
   
4. Now, under the Paste section in the Paste Special dialog box, check Formats.
   
5. Once you’ve made your selection, click OK.
   

Option 2: Use Format Painter

Another method to copy and paste conditional formatting is to use the “Format Painter” option.

1. Select the range of cells that have conditional formatting.
   
2. If not already there, go to the Home tab on the Ribbon.
   
3. Now, in the Clipboard section, click on the Format Painter button.
   
4. Drag the cursor over the range of cells where you want to paste the conditional formatting.

Note: The cells where you paste conditional formatting do not have to contain values. You can copy the conditional formatting to blank cells as well.

In addition, you can paste conditional formatting multiple times. In Step 3, double-click the Format Painter button. Once you finish pasting conditional formatting, click the button again to turn off the paste function.

Excel Copy/Paste FAQs

How to Show Formulas in Excel Instead of the Values?

On occasion, you may want to see the formula behind certain values. To view formulas applied to cells, you simply have to:

1. Go to the Formulas tab on the Ribbon.

2. In the Formula Auditing section, click on the Show Formulas button.

In the cells that contain formulas, you can now see formulas instead of values.

Does Microsoft Excel Make an Exact Copy of a Formula?

Yes, Excel allows you to copy a formula to a different cell without changing cell references.

1. Double-click the cell with the formula you want to copy. The cell is now in edit mode.

2. In the formula bar above the spreadsheet, highlight the formula and press Ctrl + C (copy).

3. Select the cell to which you want to apply the formula and press Ctrl + V (paste).

Note: If you double-click on a cell and the cursor does not appear in the cell, you have to enable Edit mode. Go to File > Options > Advanced and in the Editing options section check Allow editing directly in cells.

There is a shortcut for copying the formula of one cell to multiple cells. However, this is only applicable when the cells are adjacent to each other:

1. Place the cursor on the bottom-right corner of the cell so that it appears as a black cross.

2. Click and drag the cursor over the adjacent cells to which you want to copy the formula.

3. Release the cursor when you’ve highlighted the cells.

Now the formula is applied to a group of cells.

How Do You Replace Values in Excel?

You can do this by using the Find and Replace feature to replace both letters and numbers. This process is very simple.

1. Select the range of cells in which you want to change values.

2. Go to the Home tab on the Ribbon. In the Editing section, click on the Find & Select button.

 3. Now, click Find… in the drop-down menu to open a new popup window.

4. In the Find and Replace dialog box, select the Replace tab.

5. Now, enter the value that you want Excel to find in the Find what text box, and, in the Replace with text box, enter the replacement value.

Note: You can replace steps 1-3 with the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + H.

Now, there are two things you can do. To replace the value in only one cell, do the following:

1. Click the Find Next button. This will select the first cell in the section that contains the value you want to change.

2. Click the Replace button to replace the value of that cell with the new value.

Should you want to replace all values within the selected range of cells:

1. Click on the Find All button. This will select all the cells that have the value you want to replace.

2. Click Replace All to substitute all the old values with the new ones.

Note: You can skip Step 1. if you don’t want to identify the cells that need value replacement.

Why Is Excel Copying the Value but Not the Formula?

For some reason, your Excel is set to Manual recalculation. You have to revert this to Automatic mode:

1. Go to the Formulas tab in the Ribbon.

2. In the Calculations section, click the Calculation Options button.

3. Now, click on Automatic.

How Do You Copy a Value and Format in Excel?

You can use the “Paste Special” feature to achieve this:

1. Select the cell or a range of cells containing the value and format you want to copy.

2. Press Ctrl + C and then right-click on the cell where you want to paste values and formats.

3. Place your cursor on the small arrow next to Paste Special. In the extended menu, under the Paste Values menu, click on the third option in the row (Values & Source Formatting).

How Do You Show Value in Excel?

If a cell value is hidden and you can’t see the formula bar, you can unhide that value in the following way:

1. Select the cell with the value you want to reveal.

2. Go to the View tab on the Ribbon.

3. In the Show section, check Formula bar.

You should now be able to see the value of the selected cell in the formula bar. Alternatively, if you want to show values directly in cells, then you should:

1. Select the desired range of cells.

2. Go to the Home tab on the Ribbon.

3. In the Number section, click on the small arrow button in the bottom-right corner.

4. Select Custom in the Category section.

5. Scroll down the slider to the bottom, you should see an entry with one or more semicolons (“;”). Select this entry and click Delete.

All the hidden values within the selected range of cells should now appear.

Copying the Value in Excel Without the Formula

There are some features in Excel that you just can’t figure out intuitively. Copying the value of a cell is one of them. Hopefully, this article has enabled you to surmount this obstacle.

More importantly, you’ve learned how to copy other elements of a cell, like its formatting and formulas. “Paste Special” is the feature that you will use the most for these purposes.

Also, if you view Excel documents created by someone else, you now know how to show values and formulas that the author hid. This option helps you to find all the important information in the document.

Have you ever had a problem with copying values in Excel? If so, how did you approach the issue? Let us know in the comments section below.