A Review of Paste Special

Paste Special is one of those Excel tools that, due to its vital attributes, is good to occasionally review its many features.  It is unfortunate that more Excel users are not aware of the many advantages Paste Special brings to the everyday tasks in spreadsheets, so we are taking another look at it today.

There are no less than 17 Cool Things you can do with Paste Special.  To find it, simply copy something on your worksheet and Right-Click. Paste Special will be near the top of the dropdown list.

Here are the Top 5 Ways I use Paste Special on a regular basis:

1.  Paste Values: Simply copy the results of formulas, and Paste the Values in a new range of cells.  Great for getting rid of the formulas that created the data.

2.  Paste a Link: Merely copy a cell in another worksheet, click the Paste Link button on bottom-left of the Paste Special dialogue box and, Bamm, you can paste the dynamic link to a new location.

3.  Paste Validation: Easily copy a cell or range that has Validation applied, and paste that validation only to a new cell or range.  Incredibly useful at times!

4.  Multiply or Divide: You can copy a value and use Paste Special to multiply or divide an entire existing range of numbers.  Great for updating data or doing what-ifs!

5.  Transpose: You can easily transpose a column into a row, or a row into a column.  Quick and easy tool for those of us (like myself) who have a change of mind.

There are, of course, many other ways that Paste Special can come to your rescue.  If you are not a regular user of this marvelous tool, check it out some time and see what it can do for you!