Microsoft Office

Part I
Getting Started with Excel
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You also can use AutoFill to copy to adjacent cells by dragging the selection’s fill handle (the
small square in the bottom-right corner of the selected cell or range). Excel copies the original
selection to the cells that you highlight while dragging. For more control over the AutoFill operation, drag
the fill handle with the right mouse button, and you’ll get a shortcut menu with additional options.
Copying a range to other sheets
You can use the copy procedures described previously to copy a cell or range to another worksheet, even
if the worksheet is in a different workbook. You must, of course, activate the other worksheet before you
select the location to which you want to copy.
Excel offers a quicker way to copy a cell or range and paste it to other worksheets in the same workbook.
Start by selecting the range to copy. Then, press Ctrl and click the sheet tabs for the worksheets to which
you want to copy the information. (Excel displays [Group] in the workbook’s title bar.) Choose Home ➪
Editing ➪ Fill ➪ Across Worksheets, and a dialog box appears to ask you what you want to copy (All,
Contents, or Formats). Make your choice and then click OK. Excel copies the selected range to the selected
worksheets; the new copy occupies the same cells in the selected worksheets as the original occupies in the
initial worksheet.
Be careful with the Home ➪ Editing ➪ Fill ➪ Across Worksheets command because Excel
doesn’t warn you when the destination cells contain information. You can quickly overwrite
lots of cells with this command and not even realize it.
CAUTION
Using the Office Clipboard to paste
Whenever you cut or copy information in an Office program, such as Excel, you can place the data on both
the Windows Clipboard and the Office Clipboard. When you copy information to the Office Clipboard, you
append the information to the Office Clipboard instead of replacing what is already there. With multiple
items stored on the Office Clipboard, you can then paste the items either individually or as a group.
To use the Office Clipboard, you first need to open it. Use the dialog launcher on the bottom right of the
Home ➪ Clipboard group to toggle the Clipboard task pane on and off.
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To make the Clipboard task pane open automatically, click the Options button near the bottom
of the task pane and choose the Show Office Clipboard Automatically option.
After you open the Clipboard task pane, select the first cell or range that you want to copy to the Office
Clipboard and copy it by using any of the preceding techniques. Repeat this process, selecting the next cell
or range that you want to copy. As soon as you copy the information, the Office Clipboard task pane shows
you the number of items that you’ve copied and a brief description (it will hold up to 24 items). Figure 5.8
shows the Office Clipboard with five copied items.
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