Excel's copy and paste options are two well known and widely used features when it comes to creating a spreadsheet.
However, Excel also has other, less well known paste options that makes it easier to maintain and update your spreadsheet once it has been created.
One such feature is Paste Link, which creates a link between the data or formula in the original cell and the destination cell where it is pasted.
Example using Excel's paste link option:
Note: For help with this example, see the image to the right.
- Type the number 101 in cell C1 and press the Enter key on the keyboard.
- Click on cell C1 to make it the active cell.
- Click on the Copy button on the Home tab.
- Cell C1 will be surrounded by the Marching Ants to show that it is the cell being copied.
- Click on cell D1 - the location where the results will be displayed.
- Click on the small arrow at the bottom of the Paste button to open the drop down list.
- Click on Paste Link in the list.
- The number "101" should appear in cell D1.
- If you click on cell D1, = $C$1 appears in the formula bar above the worksheet showing that cell D1 is linked to cell C1.
- Type a different number in cell C1 and press the Enter key on the keyboard and the number in cell D1 should update to match the new number in C1.
Note: The dollar signs in the link = $C$1 indicate that it is an absolute cell reference.
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