How To Copy Formatting In Google Sheets

In this tutorial, you will learn how to copy formatting in Google Sheets.

How To Copy Formatting In Google Sheets

Often when working in Google Sheets you’ll find you’ve applied certain formatting to one range, but also want to apply it to another range so the two ranges look the same.

You could manually redo the formatting on the new range, but there’s a faster way.

Read on to learn how to copy formatting from one range to another

Copy Formatting Using the Toolbar Menu

To copy formatting using the toolbar menu, follow these steps:

Step 1

Select the cell or range you want to copy the formatting from

Step 2

Open the Edit menu, then choose Copy. You can also hit Ctrl + C on Windows or Command + C on Mac to copy

Step 3

Select the cell or range you want to copy the formatting to

Step 4

Open the Edit menu and hover over the Paste Special submenu, click on the Paste Format Only option

Step 5

The format from the range you copied will be applied to the range you pasted it into, but the data will not be changed

Copy Formatting Using the Clipboard Mini Menu

If you followed the above steps, you may have noticed when you pasted the formatting that a small clipboard icon appeared next to the cell after pasting

This clipboard menu will appear any time you paste in Google Sheets and can be used to paste formatting. Here’s how:

Step 1

Select the cell or range you want to copy formatting from and copy it as describe above

Step 2

Select the cell you want to copy the formatting to and hit the paste keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + V on Windows or Command + V on Mac

Step 3

The clapboard icon will appear by the lower right-hand corner of the range you pasted into. Click on it to expand the mini clipboard menu, then choose the Paste Format Only Option

Step 4

The formatting will be pasted into the target cell, preserving the original data

Summary

Example Spreadsheet: Make a copy of the example spreadsheet

In this tutorial, I covered how to copy formatting in Google Sheets. Want more? Check out all the Google Sheets Tutorials.