Special Edition Using Microsoft® Office XP

Copying Formats with the Format Painter

Use the Format Painter button to quickly copy all formats—fonts, colors, borders, alignment…the works—from one cell to another. Select a cell that has the formatting you want to copy, and then click the Format Painter button and click the cell to which you want to copy the formatting. (If you select a range of cells to copy from, Excel repeats the formatting in your selection.)

If you want to copy formatting to multiple cells, select the cell whose formats you want to copy, and then double-click the Format Painter button to lock it in position. Click each destination cell to copy formatting. When you're finished, click the button again or press Esc to turn off the Format Painter.

Tip from

If you select ...