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Paste values only

CtrlAltVEditing & references

Drop the formulas and formatting — keep just the numbers.

Difficulty

Amateur

Practice file

1What it does

Paste Special → Values replaces formulas with the figures they currently produce, turning a calculated range into static numbers. It's the fastest way to 'freeze' a result before the inputs change underneath it.

2The shortcut

CtrlAltV

1Copy the range with Ctrl + C.
2Press Ctrl + Alt + V to open Paste Special.
3Press V, then Enter to paste values only.

3Before → after

Press the shortcut to play it on a sample sheet.

or press the keys for real

Cell D2 shows 1,200either way — but look at what’s actually inside it:

Before — a live formula

fx=B2*C2

Right now D2 depends on B2 and C2; change either and it moves.

4When you use it

Freeze a month's actuals before they recalc.
Strip volatile formulas like TODAY() or RAND() to lock a snapshot.
Paste a lookup result so deleting the source can't break it.

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Learn the moves here — or let Wauvel run them on your numbers.

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