Excel Format Painter: copy formatting in one click (or many)

Format Painter (the paintbrush on the Home tab) copies how a cell looks — not what’s in it — onto other cells.

Paint once

1. Click the cell with the formatting you like.
2. Home › Format Painter (single click). The cursor shows a brush.
3. Click or drag over the target cells.

The brush switches off after one use.

Paint many places

Double-click Format Painter. It stays on — click as many cells, ranges or sheets as you like. Press Esc to stop.

What it copies

Font, size, bold/italic, colours, fill, borders, alignment, wrap text, number format (currency, dates, %), and conditional formatting. It does not copy values, formulas, column widths or data validation.

Copy formatting of a whole column or row

Click the column letter › Format Painter › click the target column letter. Includes the column width.

Keyboard route

Select the source › Ctrl+C › select the target › Ctrl+Alt+V › Formats (or press T) › OK. Useful for large ranges. See Paste Special.

Copy between workbooks

Works too: with both files open, click the source, Format Painter, switch window, click the target.

Undo a paint job

Ctrl+Z. To wipe formatting completely: Home › Clear › Clear Formats.

Formatting that follows the data: conditional formatting · reusable looks: cell styles on the Home tab