Often you have a table and you only want to extract the data values without all the table formatting.  The common “Copy and Paste Special” or “Paste drop down and select Values” will work, but there is an easier method – right mouse click & drag. While almost everyone understands and uses the left mouse click & drag, mostly for moving objects, many are unaware that you can do a right mouse click & drag technique, which also provides more choices.

Steps: Standard/Common Method

  1. Select the data table
  2. Click on copy (or CTRL C)
  3. Select the destination spot
  4. Click on the drop down for paste and choose values (paste icon with 123)

The following example shows how to use the right click & drag method to take the data from a formatted table, and paste just the values, without all the table formatting.  You can perform this action within the same worksheet, or across two separate workbooks, in two separate windows, including two separate monitors.

Steps: Right-Click & Drag Method

  1. Select the data table
  2. Point your mouse to the right edge of the selection (or any edge you want to move from)
  3. When you see the mouse arrow cursor with the 4-way arrow, right click & drag to the desired destination spot (within the sheet or to another workbook sheet in a separate window)

When you release the right mouse button, a menu of options will appear. For this example, select the third option – “Copy Here as Values Only”

  • Figure one displays the table and the steps for doing the right click & drag.
  • Figure two displays the right click menu that gives you options to choose from.
  • Figure three displays the end result of choosing the “values only” option.

Figure 1:  Steps to perform Right-Click & DragFigure 2:  Select the Action option from the Right-click menuFigure 3:  End Result showing Values Copied OnlyAnother Common Use for Right Click and Drag:

  • You can right click & drag on a folder or any object, and you can either copy or move the object to the destination spot, without using “copy” or “cut & paste”.
  • Below is an example of right-clicking and dragging on a folder. Note you can choose to copy the whole folder (and the contents) – instead of copy & paste.