When formulas break after pasting
Pasting a cell that contains a formula directly into another location can shift the reference range and produce unexpected values. Paste Values safely moves over only the calculated result.
Understanding absolute references helps too
Many of the reference-shifting surprises that make Paste Values necessary come down to how relative and absolute references behave β worth understanding both together.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does pasting values also keep the cell formatting?
No β choosing "Values" only drops in the formatting-free result, so if you want formatting kept too, choose the "Values and Source Formatting" option instead.
Is there a faster shortcut for this?
Yes β after copying, pressing "Ctrl+Alt+V" quickly opens the Paste Special dialog.