In all other instances you will need to rely on the mouse. You won't be able to do this using the keyboard unless the cells you want to target are directly adjacent to the cell in which you activated the Format Painter. In order to actually use the Format Painter to 'paint' a format somewhere else, you need to immediately select the cell or range of cells to which you want the format applied. There is one thing to remember with all of these approaches: They only activate the Format Painter. Since the macro can be assigned to a shortcut key, you end up with an easier shortcut than what has already been discussed. To use the macro, follow steps 1 through 3 as previously outlined, and then run the macro. The following is an example of such a macro.

If you prefer a real shortcut key (only a single key press), then you will need to develop your own macro to paste only the format. The Alt key activates the keyboard shortcuts for ribbon commands, the H selects the Home tab of the ribbon, and the FP selects the Format Painter. These should not be pressed all at once, but in sequence. You could also, if you prefer, use a sequence of shortcut keys to access ribbon commands. This sequence displays the Context menu and selects the options to paste just formatting. If you are using Excel 2010 and Excel 2013 then you should follow these steps: This sequence displays the Paste Special dialog box and chooses to paste only the format. Select the cells to receive the format.

Select the cell from which the format is to be copied.You can, however, use the following steps if you are using Excel 2007: Unfortunately, Excel doesn't provide a single shortcut key you can use for the Format Painter. He would find it much easier to use if there were a shortcut key instead. Select a recent file or navigate to the location where the file is saved. Open a Workbook: Click the File tab and select Open or press Ctrl + O.

Fred loves to use the Format Painter, but doesn't like to use the mouse to use the tool. Excel 2016 Basic Quick Reference Guide The Excel 2016 Program Screen Keyboard Shortcuts Getting Started Create a Workbook: Click the File tab and select New or press Ctrl + N.

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