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Microsoft Excel is an essential tool for analyzing, calculating and organizing data. Whether you're a student or a data management professional, Excel is likely a part of your life. One of Excel's most convenient features is its ability to calculate complex formulas once and then copy them to a cell or range. This saves a lot of time and means you only need to create the formula once and then copy it as needed.
In this blog we will discuss how to copy formulas in Excel on Mac. You'll learn how to create formulas, the tools you need to reproduce formulas, and how to check for calculation errors. This tutorial will help beginners who are new to Excel. Professionals who need a quick refresher can also benefit from this guide.
Video guide:
what do you need
To copy formulas in Excel on Mac, you need to do a few things. First, you'll need a Mac computer with Excel installed. If you don't have Excel, you can download it from the Microsoft website or purchase it with a subscription.
Second, you need a basic understanding of the functions and formulas used in Excel. Excel offers a wide range of functions such as SUM, AVERAGE, MIN, MAX and COUNT. and writing formulas such as addition, multiplication, subtraction and division. Without this knowledge, reproduction of the formula would be impossible.
What needs your attention?
Copying formulas in Excel requires some focus. During copying, calculations must be accurate and errors must be avoided. You need to make sure that the formulas you want to copy are applied correctly to cells, ranges, and tables.
This is especially important if the copied formula contains a link to an external workbook, worksheet, or cell. If you copy a formula that contains an error to another cell, you will also copy the same error. It's a good idea to test the formula before copying it to another location.
Method 1: Duplicate the formula using the fill handle
The first way to copy formulas in Excel is to use the fill handle. The fill handle is a tool in Excel that allows you to quickly copy formulas to adjacent cells. It's a small dot that appears in the lower right corner of the cell.
Step 1: Create a formula in a cell
Step 2: Hover over the fill handle and the cursor will turn into a black cross. click the left mouse button
Step 3: Drag the fill handle to the cell or area you want to copy the formula to
Step 4: release the mouse, the formula will be copied to other cells
Advantage:
– The fill handle is a quick and easy way to copy formulas to adjacent cells
– No need to re-enter the formula
lack of:
– only for neighboring cells that follow a specific pattern
– If the pattern is not correct, the wrong type will be copied
Method 2: Copy and paste
Another way to copy formulas in Excel is to use copy and paste. This method is useful when you want to copy a formula from one place to another in the same worksheet or another worksheet.
Step 1: Select the cells or ranges that contain the formulas you want to copy.
Step 2: Click on "copychewing gum "in".clipboard"Club"Dom" or use the hotkey (Command + C).
Step 3: Select the cell or area where you want to paste the formula.
Korak 4: click on "Pastechewing gum "in".clipboard"Club"Dom" or use the hotkey (Command + V).
Advantage:
– You can copy formulas from one worksheet to another.
– You can copy formulas regardless of whether the target cells are adjacent or not.
lack of:
– Copying cells with pasting formulas may overwrite cells that contain data or formulas.
Method 3: Drag and drop
A third way to copy formulas in Excel is to use drag and drop. This method is similar to the copy and paste method. the only difference is that you use the mouse to drag the formula cell to a new location.
Step 1: Select the cells or ranges that contain the formulas you want to copy.
Step 2: Hold the mouse cursor over the edge of the highlighted cell and click the left mouse button.
Step 3: Hold down the left mouse button and drag the cell to the position you want to copy.
Step 4: Release the mouse button and the formula will be copied to the new location.
Advantage:
- You can easily move and copy formulas
lack of:
– You may have accidentally dragged the cell type to the wrong place.
– You can only move one cell or range at a time.
Why can't I copy formulas in Excel on Mac?
1. You have not created a formula - this is required to copy the formula.
2. No cell fill checker - this happens when the type is not in an adjacent cell.
3. Use a protected worksheet that does not allow type changes.
4. The cell to copy the formula is not empty.
5. The formula refers to cells that are not on the same sheet.
repair:
1. Create a formula in a cell before you can copy it.
2. Move the formula to an adjacent cell.
3. Disable or unprotect the sheet before copying the formula.
4. Clear the cell where you want to copy the formula
5. Make sure the formulas refer to cells on the same sheet.
Impact and recommendations
Copying formulas is an essential skill in Excel that can save a lot of time and reduce avoidable calculation errors. Although it may seem like a trivial matter, typecasting can seem daunting to beginners. Each of the aforementioned methods has its advantages and disadvantages and depends on the task being performed. When copying a formula, double check that the formula places the correct number in the correct cell.
It is also important to remember that formulas can contain errors. Make sure the original cell containing the formula is correct before copying it. Also, be sure to test the formula after copying to make sure it's correct in other cells.
5 frequently asked questions
Q: What is the best way to copy formulas in Excel on Mac?
A: The best method is the one that best suits your work. If you want to copy a formula to neighboring cells, use the fill handle method. If you want to copy formulas between non-adjacent cells, use the copy and paste method. Use the drag and drop method to move cells.
Q: How can I copy formulas without replacing cells in Excel?
A: Copying a formula will not replace the cell, but if you want to replace the cell's contents, consider copying the formula to another location and then copying its result back to the original cell.
Q: Can I just copy the formula without copying the data to Excel?
A: Yes, you need to copy the formula into its cell, then copy its results and paste them where you want the formula without the original data.
Q: What happens if I copy the formula incorrectly?
A: If you copy the formula incorrectly, you may get wrong results in the cell. Therefore, it is important to double-check cells with formulas that contain the correct functions and refer to the target cells.
Q: How do I copy a formula that contains cell references to another worksheet in Excel?
A: Just use the copy and paste method to copy the formula to other worksheets.
summarizing
Copying formulas in Excel for Mac is an important part of data management. Correct copy ensures fast and accurate results. The three methods listed above give the user the choice of how best to reproduce the formula. Whichever method you choose, carefully check the content of the formulas in the copied question to avoid calculation errors. Use this tutorial as a tool to learn or improve your skills in copying formulas in Excel for Mac.
FAQs
How do you copy Excel formula all the way down Mac? ›
- Select the cell that has the formula you want to fill into adjacent cells.
- Rest your cursor in the lower-right corner so that it turns into a plus sign (+), like this:
- Drag the fill handle down, up, or across the cells that you want to fill.
Is there a repeat command button on Mac? To repeat the last action in Excel on a Mac, use Command+Y.
How do you copy a formula down thousands of rows in Excel? ›Select the cell with the formula, and hover the mouse cursor over a small square at the lower right-hand corner of the cell, which is called the Fill handle. As you do this, the cursor will change to a thick black cross. Hold and drag the fill handle down the column over the cells where you want to copy the formula.
How do I copy a formula down an entire column in Numbers Mac? ›Tap the cell with the formula you want to copy, tap it again, then tap Copy in the contextual menu. Tap the cell where you want to paste the formula or the result, tap it again, then tap Paste. To preserve the formula, tap Paste Formulas, or to paste only the result, tap Paste Values.
How do I rerun all formulas in Excel? ›Ctrl + Alt + F9 forces Excel to recalculate absolutely all formulas in all open workbooks, even those that have not been changed. When you have the feeling that some formulas are showing incorrect results, use this shortcut to make sure everything has been recalculated.
How do I continue the same formula in Excel? ›Select the cell with the formula and the adjacent cells you want to fill. Click Home > Fill, and choose either Down, Right, Up, or Left. Keyboard shortcut: You can also press Ctrl+D to fill the formula down in a column, or Ctrl+R to fill the formula to the right in a row.
How do you keep a cell constant in a formula Mac? ›If you do not want cell references to change when you copy a formula, then make those cell references absolute cell references. Place a "$" before the column letter if you want that to always stay the same. Place a "$" before a row number if you want that to always stay the same.
How do I apply a formula to an entire column sheet? ›Use the keyboard shortcut to apply the formula to the entire column, including any new rows you insert: Ctrl + d (Windows) or Cmd + d (Mac). The formula will be copied to the entire column and applied to new rows as soon as they are added.
How to copy same value in multiple cells in Excel using formula? ›Select the cell or range of cells. Select Copy or press Ctrl + C. Select Paste or press Ctrl + V.
How to simultaneously replace all occurrences in Excel on Mac? ›In the Replace with: box, enter the text or numbers you want to use to replace the search text. Click Replace or Replace All. Tip: When you click Replace All, every occurrence of the criteria that you are searching for will be replaced, while Replace will update one occurrence at a time.
How do I AutoFill a formula in Excel without dragging? ›
- Enter 1 in cell A1.
- Go to Home –> Editing –> Fill –> Series.
- In the Series dialogue box, make the following selections: Series in: Columns. Type: Linear. Step Value: 1. Stop Value: 1000.
- Click OK.
Cause. This behavior occurs because Excel cannot use its internal copying functionality when you run multiple instances of Excel. Instead, Excel relies on the Windows Paste Special dialog box for its copying functionality.
How do you do AutoFill in Excel? ›Put the mouse pointer over the bottom right-hand corner of the cell until it's a black plus sign. Click and hold the left mouse button, and drag the plus sign over the cells you want to fill. And the series is filled in for you automatically using the AutoFill feature.
How do I copy a formula in sheets for all rows? ›Copy Formula Down in Google Sheets
Write your formula in the first row of your spreadsheet, and then point your mouse to the lower right corner of the formula cell. The pointer changes into a fill handle (black plus symbol) that you can drag to the last row of the sheet.
However, with larger spreadsheets, this can be awkward because you'll have to hold down your mouse button and wait for Excel to scroll to the bottom of your sheet. Luckily, there's a shortcut. If you double-click the fill handle, it will instantly copy the cell content downward.
How do I paste the same value in an entire column in Excel for Mac? ›- Select the cells that contain the data or other attributes that you want to copy.
- On the Home tab, click Copy .
- Click the first cell in the area where you want to paste what you copied.
- On the Home tab, click the arrow next to Paste, and then select Paste Special.
- Select the options you want.
Just select all the cells at the same time, then enter the formula normally as you would for the first cell. Then, when you're done, instead of pressing Enter, press Control + Enter. Excel will add the same formula to all cells in the selection, adjusting references as needed.
How do you edit all formulas at once? ›All you need to do is create a selection set of the cells you want to edit. (Selection sets are created by clicking on a single cell then, as you hold down the Ctrl key, clicking on other cells you want included in the set.) Type the formula you want to appear in each cell in the set, then press Ctrl+Enter.
How do you refresh all formulas? ›Press Shift + F key to refresh and recalculate the formulas on the current sheet. Press CTRL + ALT + F9 to calculate all the open sheets of a workbook. Press CTRL + ALT + SHIFT + F9 to calculate all open workbooks and sheets.
How do you keep the same cell when copying formulas? ›If you want to maintain the original cell reference when you copy it, you "lock" it by putting a dollar sign ($) before the cell and column references. For example, when you copy the formula =$A$2+$B$2 from C2 to D2, the formula stays exactly the same. This is an absolute reference.
How do you repeat a pattern in Excel? ›
To use the repeat shortcut, simply select the cell that you want to start the series in and then press the Ctrl+Shift+Enter keys. This will cause the series to be created in the cells below. To stop the repeating, simply press the Esc key. These are just a few of the ways that you can use the repeat shortcut in Excel.
What is F4 on Mac for Excel? ›Use the F4 key to toggle between relative and absolute references. Once you've selected the cell or range of cells you want to make absolute, you can use the F4 key to toggle between relative and absolute references. Simply place your cursor in the cell reference and press F4.
How do I lock cells in Excel with formulas on a Mac? ›- Select the cells that you want to lock.
- On the Format menu, click Cells, or press. ...
- Click the Protection tab, and then make sure that the Locked check box is selected. ...
- If any cells should be unlocked, select them. ...
- On the Review tab, click Protect Sheet or Protect Workbook.
Say you want to keep cell A2 constant. To do that, click on the cell reference in the formula bar (A2), and enter $ before the column and row ($A$2). You can also press F4 while in the formula bar to add the same dollar signs (before column reference and row reference).
How do I apply an upper formula to an entire column in Excel? ›Use =UPPER(A2) in cases where you need to convert text to uppercase, replacing A2 with the appropriate cell reference. Now, fill down the formula in the new column. The quickest way to do this is by selecting cell B2, and then double-clicking the small black square that appears in the lower-right corner of the cell.
How do I fill an entire column in sheets with the same value? ›Filling With the Same Value
To do this, select the cell and then click and hold the blow box as you drag it down the column. Once you've dragged down the number of cells you want to duplicate the original value across, just release the mouse button and all of those cells will fill with that value.
Select the cell that contains the formula you want to move. Click Home > Cut (or press Ctrl + X). Select the cell you want the formula to be in, and then click Paste (or press Ctrl + V). Verify that the cell references are still what you want.
How do I fill all cells with the same value in Excel? ›Insert the same data into multiple cells using Ctrl+Enter
Select all the blank cells in a column. Press Ctrl+Enter instead of Enter. All the selected cells will be filled with the data that you typed.
- Click. in the toolbar, then choose Show Find & Replace.
- Click. ...
- Enter a word or phrase in the first field. ...
- Enter the replacement word or phrase in the second field. ...
- Use the buttons at the bottom of the Find & Replace window to review and change the text matches:
Similarly, you can also find and replace multiple values in Google Sheets. Select the range where you want to replace values (here, B2:B19), and in the Menu, go to Edit > Find and replace (or use the keyboard shortcut CTRL + H).
How do you find and replace multiple values at once in Excel macro? ›
- Open your VBA editor ( Alt + F11 ) and paste the below macro anywhere.
- Set up a two-column lookup range: 1st column is the value to search for, 2nd the value to replace.
- Select your input range where values should be replaced like shown in the 1st picture.
- Execute the macro ( Alt + F8 ).
- Select the range of cells – including the initial value – where you want numbers to be populated (C2:C9).
- Then, go to Home > Fill.
- Click Series.
Excel Flash Fill is a special tool that analyzes the information you are entering and automatically fills data when it identifies a pattern. The Flash Fill feature was introduced in Excel 2013 and is available in all later versions of Excel 2016, Excel 2019, Excel 2021, and Excel for Microsoft 365.
How do I AutoFill in Excel without double clicking? ›- Click on File in Excel 2010-365 or on the Office button in version 2007.
- Go to Options -> Advanced and untick the checkbox Enable fill handle and cell drag-and-drop.
If you don't see the fill handle, it might be hidden. To display it:On the Excel menu, click Preferences > Edit > Under Edit Options, check the "Allow fill handle and cell drag-and-drop" box.
What is the difference between flash fill and AutoFill? ›AutoFill and Flash fill features are very similar but not the same. The AutoFill feature senses the pattern of data but it can only repeat a simple pattern. On contrary, the Flash Fill feature can sense, repeat, and make adjustments to a pattern based on what the user is attempting to do.
How do you AutoFill sheets? ›- On your computer, open a spreadsheet in Google Sheets.
- In a column or row, enter text, numbers, or dates in at least two cells next to each other.
- Highlight the cells. You'll see a small blue box in the lower right corner.
- Drag the blue box any number of cells down or across.
Keyboard shortcut: You can also press Ctrl+D to fill the formula down in a column, or Ctrl+R to fill the formula to the right in a row.
How do you select all down in Excel Mac? ›- Click the Select All button.
- Press CTRL+A. Note If the worksheet contains data, and the active cell is above or to the right of the data, pressing CTRL+A selects the current region. Pressing CTRL+A a second time selects the entire worksheet.
- Select a cell: Click the table, then click the cell once.
- Select a range of adjacent cells: Click the table, click the cell once, then drag a white dot any direction across the range of adjacent cells. ...
- Select nonadjacent cells: Click the table, click the cell once, then Command-click any other cells.
How do you copy and paste all the way down Excel? ›
Excel Fill Down is an option when we want to fill down or copy any data or formulas to the cells below. We can use the keyboard shortcut “CTRL + D” while copying the data and selecting the cells. Else, we can click the “Fill” button in the “Home” tab and use the option to fill it down from the list.
How do I copy an exact formula down a column? ›Click Home > Cut (or press Ctrl + X). Select the cell you want the formula to be in, and then click Paste (or press Ctrl + V). Verify that the cell references are still what you want. Tip: You can also right-click the cells to cut and paste the formula.
How do I copy a formula down a column in sheets? ›Copy Formula Down in Google Sheets
Write your formula in the first row of your spreadsheet, and then point your mouse to the lower right corner of the formula cell. The pointer changes into a fill handle (black plus symbol) that you can drag to the last row of the sheet.
Command-A: Select All items. Command-F: Find items in a document or open a Find window.
How do you select all quickly on a Mac? ›Select all items in a window: Click a window to make it active, then press Command-A.
What is the shortcut to select an entire column in Excel for Mac? ›Selection Shortcuts
To select an entire column, click on the column letter at the top of the screen. Alternatively, you can use Shift + Spacebar to select an entire row and Command + Spacebar to select an entire column.
Hold Cmd to Select Multiple Non-Adjacent Files
Open up the folder with all the files in Finder. Click on the first file you want to select. Now, hold Cmd on your keyboard, and click each of the other files you want to select. Keeping the Cmd key pressed will allow you to add multiple files to your selection.
Selecting multiple cells with the shift key is the fastest and most effective way. Click the first cell in the range you want to select. Scroll the screen until you find the last cell in the range to select. Hold down with your shift key on the keyboard and then click that cell.
How do you paste exact formulas in Excel? ›Select the cell that contains the formula you want to move. Click Home > Cut (or press Ctrl + X). Select the cell you want the formula to be in, and then click Paste (or press Ctrl + V). Verify that the cell references are still what you want.
How to copy and paste multiple cells in Excel and keep formatting? ›Select the cells that contain the data or other attributes that you want to copy. Click the first cell in the area where you want to paste what you copied. On the Home tab, under Edit, click Paste, and then click Paste Special. Paste all cell contents and formatting, including linked data.