Microsoft Office

Working with Cells and Ranges 5
Using Smart Tags When Inserting and Pasting
Some cell and range operations — specifically inserting, pasting, and filling cells by dragging — result in the
display of a Smart Tag. A Smart Tag is a small square that, when clicked, presents you with options. For
example, if you copy a range and then paste it to a different location, a Smart Tag appears at the lower-right of
the pasted range. Click the Smart Tag, and you see the options shown in the following figure. These options
enable you to specify how the data should be pasted. In this case, using the Smart Tag is an alternative to using
options in the Paste Special dialog box.
Some users find these Smart Tags helpful, while others think that they’re annoying. (Count me in the latter
group.) To turn off these Smart Tags, choose Office ➪ Excel Options and click the Advanced tab. Remove the
check mark from the two options labeled Show Paste Options Buttons and Show Insert Options Buttons.
Copying to adjacent cells
Often, you’ll find that you need to copy a cell to an adjacent cell or range. This type of copying is quite
common when working with formulas. For example, if you’re working on a budget, you might create a formula
to add the values in column B. You can use the same formula to add the values in the other columns.
Rather than re-enter the formula, you can copy it to the adjacent cells.
Excel provides additional options for copying to adjacent cells. To use these commands, select the cell that
you’re copying and the cells that you’re copying to. Then issue the appropriate command from the following
list for one-step copying:
n Home ➪ Editing ➪ Fill ➪ Down (or Ctrl+D) copies the cell to the selected range below.
n Home ➪ Editing ➪ Fill ➪ Right (or Ctrl+R) copies the cell to the selected range to the right.
n Home ➪ Editing ➪ Fill ➪ Up copies the cell to the selected range above.
n Home ➪ Editing ➪ Fill ➪ Left copies the cell to the selected range to the left.
None of these commands places information on either the Windows Clipboard or the Office Clipboard.
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