Summary  
This chapter covers how to perform selective copy-paste operations on tabular data—choosing to paste only values, formats, column widths or to apply element-wise arithmetic (add, subtract, multiply, divide) or transpose data—all without extra formulas or manual steps.

General domain of usage  
Spreadsheet data transformation

Standard `Ctrl + V` pastes everything: values, formulas, formatting, borders, data validation rules. Most of the time that's too much. You want just the numbers, or just the format, or you want to multiply an entire column by a factor without writing a formula.

Paste Special gives you surgical control over what gets pasted. It's one of those tools that feels minor until you realise how many awkward workarounds it replaces.

### Opening Paste Special
First copy a cell or range with `Ctrl + C`, then:
1. **Keyboard shortcut**: `Ctrl + Alt + V` (Win) or `Ctrl + Cmd + V` (Mac);
2. Right-click menu: **Right-click the destination → Paste Special**;

**3.** Ribbon: **Home → Paste dropdown → Paste Special**. 

### Operation
This is one of Paste Special's most underused capabilities. Instead of just replacing the destination with what you copied, Excel can perform an arithmetic operation between the two:
- **None**: standard replacement (default);
- **Add**: adds the copied value to the destination;
- **Subtract**: subtracts the copied value from the destination;
- **Multiply**: multiplies the destination by the copied value;
- **Divide**: divides the destination by the copied value. 

### Other Options
- **Skip blanks**: doesn't overwrite destination cells when the copied range has blank cells;
- **Transpose**: rotates the data — rows become columns, columns become rows.

### The Most Useful Paste Special Operations
- **Paste Values**:  removing the formula dependency — paste it as Values;
- **Paste Formats**: only the formatting transfers. The destination's values are untouched;

**Format Painter** (the paintbrush icon) is faster for one-off, single-click formatting transfers. **Paste Special → Formats** is better when you need to apply a format to multiple separate ranges, since the copied format stays on the clipboard.

Note

- **Paste Column Widths**: e.g. you've carefully adjusted column widths in one sheet and need the same layout on another sheet;
- **Paste with Operation**: this process was already demonstrated in the chapter above;
- **Transpose**: flips rows and columns. If you have data laid out horizontally across a row and need it in a vertical column (or vice versa), Transpose does it in one step.

**Apply a bulk price increase with Multiply**

- Type `1,15` in an empty cell (a 15% increase). Copy it;
- Select the Unit Cost column data range;
- **Paste Special → Multiply**. Confirm all Unit Cost values have increased by 15%;
- Delete the `1,15` helper cell.

After the task completion, what is the new result in the F20 cell? 

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Paste Special for Speed

Opening Paste Special

Operation

Other Options

The Most Useful Paste Special Operations