When I copy and paste data from one Excel sheet to another, why can't I paste and "Keep Destination Formatting"?

Question

I am using Office 365 on MacOs Ventura 13.4. The "Keep Destination Formatting" option is not even available in the Paste Special menu.

Answer 1

Hello Mark,

I'm Ibhadighi and I'd happily help you with your question. In this forum, we are Microsoft consumers just like yourself.

In Excel for Mac, the “Keep Destination Formatting” option is not available in the “Paste Special” menu. Instead, you can use the “Match Destination Formatting” option to paste data from one sheet to another while preserving the formatting of the destination cells.

Here’s how to do it:

Select the data you want to copy and press “Command + C” to copy it to the clipboard.

Click on the destination cell where you want to paste the data.

Right-click on the destination cell and choose “Paste Special” from the context menu.

In the “Paste Special” dialog box, select “Match Destination Formatting” from the list of options.

Click “OK” to paste the data and apply the destination formatting.

This will paste the data into the destination cells while preserving their existing formatting.

Best Regards, IBHADIGHI

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Answer 2

Thanks for your reply Ibhadighi, but alas I don't have the "Match Destination Formatting"option.

![Image](https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/36f9a244-be36-4952-8c8a-f4cb4dc005a8?platform=QnA"https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/d12999e8-bc65-4c00-bd7c-0ea3b5177bc4?platform=QnA" rel="ugc nofollow">

Answer 3

Hi

When you do a regular paste, not paste special, you will see a small button appear in the lower right-hand corner. Click that button for the Match Destination option.

Answer 4

Hello Mark,

I hope this was resolved.

Best Regards, IBHADIGHI

Answer 5

Thanks Jim, but no that option is not there. I've tried that and all it offers is exactly that which is available for Paste Special. Thanks anyway. I'm becoming convinced it is not supported by the OS unless someone running MacOs Ventura 13.4 can confirm that have that option available.