Welcome to Excelling with Excel

More Basics

Cut, copy, paste and delete - this is just 2, 2 ez :-) and the shortcuts

Copy and cut work the same way - they move data for you. BUT copy means to make a copy of the data. This copy can then be placed in another worksheet or elsewhere on the same worksheet or even in a new workbook. When you copy data, you really end up with two copies of the same information. You still will have the original data you created and then a copy of that data. The original data is in the same place where you first created it.

Cut means to remove data. You can remove data from a spreadsheet and then place it somewhere else on the same worksheet or another worksheet or even another workbook. When you cut data, the data is removed from where it was originally. The data remains on the clipboard until you select a place for it to be placed. WARNING: older versions of Excel do this, if you copy or cut information and forget to paste the information somewhere else and then do another copy or cut without pasting the first copy or cut, the first copy or cut is gone. That is not a problem if you copy the data, but it is a problem if you cut the data.

Cut, copy paste and delete in three easy steps:

Copy - step one

• open a workbook
• type data in cells A3:C3 - type 53, 46 and 82 respectively
• select the cells A3:C3 - you will be copying this data
• to copy either select the copy icon OR the EDIT menu copy or even better the shortcut - control (ctrl) C (press the control key and the letter C on the keyboard)
• if you used the shortcut let go of the keys, after you copy either by the icon or the EDIT menu, you will see dotted lines around the cells
• this means you have copied the data
• click on cell A6 and do a paste
• you can do a paste using the paste icon OR the EDIT menu-paste OR the shortcut control V
• you have now copied and pasted data
• do you see the copies - you have two copies of the same data

To Cut Step 2

• select the cells A6:C6 (this is where you placed the copy of the data)
• select the cut icon OR the EDIT menu-cut OR the shortcut control X
• you will see dotted lines around the data
• click on cell A9 and do a paste
• you can do a paste using the paste icon or the EDIT menu-paste or the shortcut control V
• look what happened - you only have one copy of the data
• you just cut the data and placed it elsewhere

Delete - Step 3

• too, too easy
• select the data
• tap the delete key you find above the arrow keys on your keyboard
• poof - gone!
• you can also delete using the EDIT menu - delete after you select the data you want to delete

TIP:
Practice this, practice this, practice this!!!! Make up some numbers, do a calculation and then copy the data, cut the data and delete the data.

Diagram

To shortcuts

Ready to work with dates? Let's go to working with dates.