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To copy only a cell’s appearance in Excel, select the formatted source cell and use Home > Format Painter, or copy the source and choose Home > Paste > Paste Special > Paste Formatting. On Windows, Ctrl+Alt+V opens Paste Special; press T to choose formatting. On Mac, use Formatting in the Paste menu or Formats in Paste Special.
Which method should you use?
- Format Painter: Choose this for a quick, visual brush workflow to apply a cell’s formatting to a target cell or range. Microsoft’s Format Painter instructions describe copying cell formatting to another selection.
- Paste Special: Choose this when you want to select formatting alone from a menu of paste attributes. Depending on the platform and copied data, Paste Special may also offer options such as values, formulas, data validation, and column widths. The available choices can vary and some may be unavailable for a particular selection.
Copy formatting with Format Painter
- Select the cell that has the formatting you want to reuse.
- On the ribbon, select Home > Format Painter.
- Drag over the destination cell or range, then release the mouse button to apply the formatting.
Paste formatting only
- Select the formatted source cell and copy it.
- Select the destination cell or range.
- Choose Home > Paste > Paste Special > Paste Formatting. This applies the formatting-specific paste option instead of a regular paste that can include other cell contents or attributes.
Windows keyboard sequence
After copying the source cell and selecting the destination, press Ctrl+Alt+V to open Paste Special, then press T to select formatting only. These keystrokes are the Windows sequence documented by Microsoft’s Paste Special guidance.
Use the formatting paste option on Mac
Excel for Mac provides Formatting in the Paste menu and Formats in Paste Special. Microsoft lists these instructions for Microsoft 365 for Mac, Excel 2024 for Mac, and Excel 2021 for Mac. In Excel for Mac version 16.33 or later, paste-formatting actions can also be added to the Quick Access Toolbar or assigned custom key combinations. See Microsoft’s Paste Special instructions for Mac for the applicable menu route and version details.
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Why did more than the appearance get pasted?
A regular paste can bring over more than formatting. If the destination should retain its existing contents, use the formatting-specific option—Paste Formatting on Windows or Formatting/Formats on Mac—rather than the ordinary paste command. If a Paste Special choice is disabled, its availability can depend on the platform and what was copied.
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