Lessons Lesson 14

Copy, Paste, Fill and Undo

About this lesson

Ctrl+C, Ctrl+X and Ctrl+V copy, cut and paste cells. Ctrl+D and Ctrl+R fill a selection down or to the right from its first cell. Ctrl+Z undoes the last action.

By the end you can

  • copy, cut and paste cells from the keyboard.
  • fill a selection down with Ctrl+D and across with Ctrl+R.
  • undo the last change with Ctrl+Z.

By Ali, Founder, Excel Lessons

The idea

Copy, cut and paste are the keys everybody already knows. The two to add are the fills. Select a block with the formula in its top cell, and Ctrl+D copies it down the block. Select a row with the formula at the left, and Ctrl+R copies it across. Neither can go too far the way the drag handle does.

The difference that matters is cut against copy. Cutting a cell and pasting it elsewhere moves it. Every formula that pointed at it now points at its new address. Copying it, pasting it and deleting the original leaves those formulas pointing at an empty cell. That is a bug that shows up as zeros, not errors.

The mistake to watch for

Filling by dragging the corner handle across 200 rows. CtrlD fills a selection down from its top cell. CtrlR fills it right from its left cell. Both are exact, with nothing going too far. And CtrlZ puts back whatever a fill wrote over. Select first, then fill.

Read more about this

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Press the shortcut

The bracket needs the same reorder level as D2.

Press CtrlC.

A1
Part
Row A B C D E F G
1 Part Bin Stock Reorder at
2 Hinge A3 140 50
3 Bracket A4 32 40
4 Bolt M6 B1 910 300
5 Washer B2 1200 500
6 Castor C1 18 12
7
8

Every step

  1. 1

    The bracket needs the same reorder level as D2. Press CtrlC.

    Hint. Ctrl and the first letter of Copy.

  2. 2

    Click D3 and press CtrlV to paste.

    Hint. Ctrl and V.

  3. 3

    The castor row is in the wrong place. Press CtrlX to cut it.

    Hint. Ctrl and X.

  4. 4

    A formula in E2 needs to reach E6. Select E2:E6 and press CtrlD.

    Hint. Ctrl and D.

  5. 5

    A formula in B8 needs to reach D8. Select B8:D8 and press CtrlR.

    Hint. Ctrl and R.

  6. 6

    That fill covered a total you still need. Press CtrlZ to undo it.

    Hint. Ctrl and Z.