Encountering a problem pasting from one worksheet to another....

[nw138413]

I receive a daily sales report which is formatted the same way each day. From one day to the next I copy a block of cells with formulas from the prior day to the current day. Up until this week, this operation had worked just fine. Now instead of copying the formulas, it copies only the data from the prior worksheet. When I try to use 'paste special' to select formulas, it comes up with a window I'm not accustomed to seeing from the 'paste special' function.


Does anyone have any ideas what may be happening here?


Thanks in advance.

 

[fred]

1. please clarify what you mean by "it copies only the data from the prior worksheet". The worksheet you are looking at on your screen is the active worksheet. when you click the copy button or use crtl-c, it only copy the block of formulae/data on the active worksheet. So i don't know what you mean by prior worksheet. are there multiple worksheets in the same workbook, or from a different workbook?


2. "paste special": when you copy, Excel takes your order and think of it as you have placed an order for a prime rib. But when it comes to "paste" think of it as how you want your prime rib served: bloody, rare, medium rare, medium, medium well, well done or over-done like a charcoal. Excel doesn't know how you want your rib served so the paste special is asking you if you want the copied cells to paste (showing most common cases):

- as a value/figure/text

- formula

- format (colors/borders of the cell and that's is, not data or formula)

- transpose (shifting from a column of cells to a row of cells or from a row of cells to a column of cells)

- others

 

[nw138413]

To clarify to your first question. When copying the range (which includes the formulas) from the prior day's sales data (in a seperate workbook file) and pasting to the new day's sales data sheet, it only pastes data from the prior days workbook and does not copy the formulas.


The paste special window does not give the options of pasting formulas, formats, etc. (the norma paste special choices). Instead it gives you choices like:


Paste Special Source: unicode text, object, etc.


I can replicate the problem when I copy from a workbook, close the workbook while the information remains on the clipboard, and try to paste to a different workbook.


Only issue is in this instance excel has BOTH workbooks open at the same time. This just stared happening recently too.


Thanks.

 

[fred]

I think I have seen this some time before. if both source file and your file are from same version, make sure your file's setting is correct or identical with the source file. I don't recall exactly what I did to my file or the source file to fix it. But I think it has to do with the setting of the file.


You only see Unicode, object etc is becuase of the fact that excel is looking at the copied area as a text or a picture (not sure) and not excel formula.


Also try to see if this may work for you. On the source file, try F2 on the formula cells and hit enter. Basically you are revalidating/updating the formula. then hit enter key. So you are not making any changes to the cells you want to copy. Then copy and try to paste the cell on the new file.

 

[fred]

And by the way, make sure you don't have cells with F2 active when copying.


I tried on my side and block a few cells with formula to be copied. If I hilight the cells chosen, and accidentally hit the F2 key on the first cell, then copy the block of cells. When I go to the new workshet and do a paste special, I see the same paste as unicode, text window showing up and not the regular paste special window.


Hope this help.