How to Uncopy in Excel3 Simple Methods
If you are working on a project in Excel that requires you to copy a cell or group of cells using the Ctrl+C shortcut or your mouse, it can be frustrating when the cells you copied will not uncopy.
When you select a cell or group of cells to copy, dashes called marching ants will appear around the selected cell(s) to make you aware of the selection.
You can then paste the copied cells and move on to your next task.
But what happens when you can’t get rid of the marching ants around the cell(s) you just copied?
In other words, what happens when you can’t uncopy those cells?
This can be frustrating because you can’t select a new cell or group of cells to copy until the original cell(s) have been uncopied.
Believe it or not, this is a common frustration for many Excel users, but luckily there are a few simple solutions to this problem!
How to Uncopy or Clear a Copy Area in Excel
Simply Press Esc
This is perhaps the quickest and most simple method for un-copying a cell or area in Excel.
After Copying and Pasting the cell or group of cells, you can simply press the Escape or ESC key.
This will abort the operation in the Cell, returning the cell to its original, unselected state.
The marching ants around the selected area should disappear and you should be able to select a new cell or copy area.
Double-clicking a Cell
Depending on the version of Excel that you are using, double-clicking on a cell can clear the selected area.
Some people say this works for them while others have mentioned that it did not work – which is why we said it depends on the version of Excel that you are using.
Go ahead and give this method a try, if it doesn’t work, you may just have to use the ESC key after each copy and paste.
Clear the Clipboard
Every once in a while we recommend that you Clear the Clipboard in your Home tab.
The Clipboard is essentially a holding place for data such as text, pictures, etc.
Anytime you Copy something in Excel, the selection is saved in the Clipboard.
You can Copy up to 24 times in Excel and it will be stored here.
The Clipboard is a great tool when you need to reference back to previously copied cells or data that you may have deleted.
However, if you are having issues un-copying a cell or copying a new cell, you may simply need to clear the Clipboard to make room for new data.
To access the Clipboard in Excel you go the Hometab near the top of the Excel Window –> Click the Clipboard dialog box launcher –> Click the small Arrow to the Right and a dialog box will appear on the left side of your Excel spreadsheet.
The Clipboard will show you all the stored data and recently copied data.
You can clear the entire Clipboard by clicking on the Clear All Button as shown in the image below:
Conclusion
We hope the methods listed above helped you find the solution you are looking for.
If you know any other ways to uncopy a cell or area in Excel, please feel free to leave them in the comments below!