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Looking for the keyboard shortcut for Copy Format and Paste Format (or format painter)

Anonymous
2016-05-06T17:25:55+00:00

I have seen several posts for Office Mac 2011 but can't find any for Office Mac 2016.

I am trying to use a keyboard shortcut to replicate the functionality of Format Painter.  I have seen some posts that claim shift+command C and shift+command V should work but I am not able to get that to work.  I tried defining my own keyboard shortcut in OSx but can't find the menu item for Format Painter.

Any ideas?

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Bob Jones AKA CyberTaz MVP 435.9K Reputation points
2016-05-07T11:00:25+00:00

The two keyboard shortcuts work independently of each other, not as steps of the same operation. IOW, use one or the other but not both:

  • Shift+Command+c is associated with the CopyFormatting command. In effect, it is the keystroke for Format Painter. It copies only the formatting of the selected cell. When you move the pointer it assumes the Format Painter appearance. You can then click the cell or select the range to which you want to apply the copied formatting. This is a 'one shot' deal... you can't go on to paste elsewhere without copying again.
  • Shift+Command+v is assigned to the PasteFormatting command. Copy the formatted cell as usual, select the target cell or range, then execute the keystroke which pastes only the formatting of the selected cell. This is a one shot deal as well.

Neither is documented in the article Mike provided the link to. My guess is that it's because they are new in this version & simply were overlooked or may have been sneaked in with an update after the list of keyboard shortcuts was compiled. In that regard, if they aren't working for you make sure your installation of the software is fully updated. The current version should be 15.21.1 or later.

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Bob Jones AKA CyberTaz MVP 435.9K Reputation points
2016-05-07T11:13:01+00:00

There is no explicit menu command for either Format Painter, Copy Formatting or Paste Formatting.

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-05-07T21:16:44+00:00

    To add to the Bob Jones explanation of the Format Painter button:

    If you select a cell whose format you want to copy and then double-click the Format Painter button, you get "sticky" behavior instead of the "one shot deal."

    After you double-click the Format Painter button, to apply the previously selected format, you can click and click-and-drag to select non-adjacent cells and ranges.

    Then turn off the "sticky" behavior by clicking the Format Painter button.

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-05-06T20:54:05+00:00

    Thanks for you reply Mike.  I had searched that link earlier and don't see any "Format Painter" or Format copy, Format Paste commands.

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-05-06T19:16:01+00:00

    I don't know how to solve your specific problem, but ...

    the article "Keyboard shortcuts in Excel 2016 for Mac" is at

    https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Keyboard-shortcuts-in-Excel-2016-for-Mac-acf5419e-1f87-444d-962f-4e951a658ccd

    and you might be able to make use of the Paste Special Formats menu item.

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