MS Excel: How to use format painter with just the keyboard?

4

1

If you want to paste a format, you can copy and use the keyboard shortcut to paste special (Ctrl + Alt + V). MS Excel also has a useful format painter tool. You can select it using a keyboard shortcut (Using the hotkeys for the ribbon tools and then hitting the keys F, P).

However, what happens next is that the moment you move to a different cell using the arrow keys, it gets copied to that cell. With a mouse you can select any cell you want, but obviously with a keyboard it's going to be pasted onto one of the neighbouring cells:

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How do I do this properly with just the keyboard? (I'm using Excel 2016)

WorldGov

Posted 2018-08-10T11:15:18.037

Reputation: 1 069

Note that you can use the keyboard to finish the paste special: Ctrl+Alt+V Alt-T Enter. You could also do Shift-F10 F R to use the Context Menu to paste the formatting. Or do Ctrl-V Ctrl R (separate press and release of Control key to open Paste Context Menu). – NetMage – 2019-09-05T19:34:37.977

Answers

2

It is quite cumbersome, but after you undo (Ctrl + z) formatting the neighbouring cell, you can move around the cursor with the keyboard arrows and press enter finally to paint the correct cell.

If you hold down shift while navigating (before pressing enter) you can paint multiple (adjacent) cells at once.

Vincent

Posted 2018-08-10T11:15:18.037

Reputation: 301

5

Press F5 or Ctrl+G (Go To), and type in the address of your destination cell. You can F5 around and when you are done press ESC to get out of format painter.

WireGuy

Posted 2018-08-10T11:15:18.037

Reputation: 1 681