How to Use Paste Special in Excel
To open Paste Special in Excel, copy a cell with Ctrl+C, then press Ctrl+Alt+V to bring up the dialog and choose what to paste: values, formulas, formats, column widths, or a transposed layout. The fastest path for the most common task, pasting values only, is Ctrl+Alt+V then V then Enter. On Mac use Ctrl+Command+V.
Opening Paste Special and the dialog options
Paste Special lets you paste only part of what you copied instead of the whole cell. After copying with Ctrl+C, press Ctrl+Alt+V to open the dialog. The top section controls what to paste, the bottom section controls an optional math operation and a few toggles.
The most-used choice is Values, which strips out formulas and pastes only the resulting numbers and text. This is how you freeze a calculated column before deleting the inputs, or break a link to another workbook.
| Option | Dialog letter | What it pastes |
|---|---|---|
| Values | V | Calculated results only, no formulas |
| Formulas | F | Formulas without formatting |
| Formats | T | Number and cell formatting only |
| Values and number formats | U | Results plus their display format |
| Column widths | W | Just the column width of the source |
| Transpose | E (checkbox) | Flips rows into columns |
Letters shown are the underlined accelerator keys in the Paste Special dialog on Windows Excel.
Pasting values only, the most common task
Converting formulas to static values is a daily move in financial modeling: locking a forecast snapshot, cleaning imported data, or removing volatile functions before sharing. There are two fast ways to do it.
- Select the range and copy it with
Ctrl+C. - Press
Ctrl+Alt+Vto open Paste Special. - Press
Vto choose Values, thenEnter. - Alternatively, right-click the destination and pick the clipboard icon labeled Values (123) under Paste Options.
- Press
Escto clear the marching-ants copy border when finished.
Ctrl+Alt+V, thenV, thenEnteris the full keyboard path for values only.- Use Values and number formats (
U) when you want the numbers to keep showing as currency or percentages. - Pasting values over the same cells you copied is the standard way to flatten a formula in place.
Transpose and the Operation tricks
The Transpose checkbox flips a vertical range into a horizontal one and vice versa, useful when a data source arrives in the wrong orientation. Copy the range, open Paste Special, tick Transpose, and paste into an empty area (you cannot transpose onto the cells you copied).
The Operation section is a hidden gem. With a number copied, choose Add, Subtract, Multiply, or Divide to apply that operation to every cell in the destination at once. For example, copy a cell containing 1000, select a range of values, open Paste Special, and choose Divide to convert the whole range from units to thousands in one step, no helper column required.
- To transpose: copy the source, press
Ctrl+Alt+V, tick Transpose (E), and paste into a blank area. - To scale a range: type a factor into a spare cell (for example 1000) and copy it.
- Select the range you want to scale.
- Press
Ctrl+Alt+V, choose the Multiply or Divide operation, thenEnter. - Delete the helper cell. The whole range is rescaled in place.
Prepare to Share
Pasting values is how analysts flatten formulas before sending a model out, but doing it sheet by sheet is error-prone. ModelMint's Prepare to Share handles the whole cleanup pass at once, so the file you ship is consistent and free of stray links and live formulas you meant to freeze.
Get ModelMint See how it worksFAQ
What is the keyboard shortcut for Paste Special?
On Windows Excel it is Ctrl+Alt+V. The dialog then accepts single-letter accelerators, so Ctrl+Alt+V, V, Enter pastes values only. On Mac the shortcut is Ctrl+Command+V.
Why is Paste Special greyed out or missing options?
Paste Special only offers options that match what is on the clipboard. If you cut instead of copied, or copied from another application, choices like Formulas and Transpose may be disabled. Copy the source again with Ctrl+C and retry.
How do I paste values without losing my number formatting?
Choose Values and number formats (the U accelerator) instead of plain Values. It pastes the calculated results while preserving currency, percent, and decimal formatting from the source cells.