How to copy formatting to a range of cells. If you need to change formatting of more than one cell, clicking each cell individually would be tedious and time consuming. Move to the cell where you want to apply the formatting and click on it.ĭone! The new formatting is copied to your target cell.The pointer will change to a paint brush. On the Home tab, in the Clipboard group, click the Format Painter button.Select the cell with the formatting you want to copy.To copy cell formatting with the Excel Format Painter, just do the following: In all Excel versions, the Format Painter button is located on the Home tab, in the Clipboard group, right next to the Paste button:

Text alignment, direction and orientation.

Font characteristics such as bold, italic, and underline.

Number format (General, Percentage, Currency, etc.).

With just a couple of clicks, it can help you reproduce most, if not all of the formatting settings, including: It works by copying the formatting of one cell and applying it to other cells.

When it comes to copying formatting in Excel, Format Painter is one of the most helpful and underused features.

Copy formatting to an entire column/row with Paste Special.

Copy formats down a column using the Fill Handle.

How to copy formatting in Excel with Format Painter.

As you have probably guessed, I am talking about the Excel Format Painter that makes it really easy to take the formatting of one cell and apply it to another.įurther on in this tutorial, you will find the most efficient ways to use Format Painter in Excel, and learn a couple of other techniques to copy formatting in your sheets. Whether you are creating a repot for your head office or building a summary worksheet for the board of directors, proper formatting is what makes important data stand out and convey the relevant information more effectively.įortunately, Microsoft Excel has an amazingly simple way to copy formatting, which is often overlooked or underestimated.

These techniques work in all versions of Excel 2016, 2013, 2010 and earlier.Īfter you've put a lot of effort in calculating a worksheet, you would usually want to add some finishing touches to make it look nice and presentable. This short tutorial shows how to copy formatting in Excel using Format Painter, Fill Handle and Paste Special options.

Copy conditional formatting excel 2016