Friday, March 21, 2008

Tip # 29 Quick copy to noncontiguous cells

Copying data or a formula is simple. You just drag the source cell's fill handle and Excel copies the data or formula from the source cell to the cells you select using the fill handle. But copying isn't always a nice, neat, contiguous package. Sometimes you need to copy data or a formula to a series of noncontiguous cells. You could paste the source data into each individual cell, but that's the hard way. Instead, you can copy data into a noncontiguous block.

First, copy the source data. Then, hold down the Ctrl key while you click each cell in the noncontiguous destination range. Once you've highlighted each target cell, press Ctrl+V, and Excel will copy the source data into each of the highlighted cells. Formulas copied this way obey referencing rules, in regard to absolute and relative addresses.

An alternate method is to right-click in the cell that contains data you want to copy and choose Copy from the resulting submenu. Then, right-click a destination cell and choose Paste. At this point, the source cell is still highlighted, which means you can copy the contents again. Right-click another destination cell and choose Paste. Continuing selecting destination cells until you've completed the copy task. Press Esc to clear the selection of the source cell.