Excel: Copy Formatting from One Cell or Range to Another
Contributed by Rob Rogers 
Tagged: Microsoft Excel To copy formatting from one cell or a range of cells to another cell or range of cells, use the Format Painter feature.
1. Select the cell or range that has the formatting you want to copy.
2. Click the Format Painter button on the Formatting toolbar. Excel will change the cursor to a brush and display an outline around the cell or range that
contains the copied formatting.
3. Select the cell or range, to which you want to apply the formatting.
After applying the formatting, Excel restores the normal cursor. If you need to
apply the formatting to multiple cells or ranges, double-click the Format Painter button to lock it, when finished click the Format Painter button again to unlock it.
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jon said on February 13, 2009
this is useless without an image of what the format painter tool looks like
Paul said on April 7, 2009
Its a paint brush in the standard toolbar.
steve said on May 13, 2009
Excel: Copy Formatting from One Cell or Range to Another
This page rocks!
Thanks,
Steve
Jesse Josserand said on July 13, 2010
Seems that formats do not copy fully correctly in Excel 2007.
Had any trouble with this?
Thanks for the double click comment. I was not aware of that feature!
Cozinhas Planejadas said on October 12, 2010
Thanks mate!
Simple but precise what I needed!
Chocolate_humunculus said on February 18, 2011
All very nice, but how do I copy a cell and format in a formula? (not just basic text)
Allison said on April 8, 2011
WHERE is the format brush in Excel 2011?! I cannot find it.
Rob Rogers said on April 9, 2011
In Excel 2011:
Right-click Toolbar and select Customize Toolbars and Menus.
Select Commands.
Go to All Commands.
Find the Format Painter and drag it to the toolbar above the Ribbon.
Now you always have the Format Painter tool.
Someone said on May 17, 2011
It does not work in Excel 2010
NYMarge said on January 16, 2012
I can’t use the format painter, because I need to copy the format of SEVERAL cells which I am concatenating. Here’s my formula in Cell G3:
= “1. “&a3&”, 2. “&b3 etc.
In A3, the third, fourth and fifth words are italicised (book title); in B3, the 3rd through 6th words are italicized, etc. Cell G3 lists all the books that might be in A3 on. (Formula’s a little more complicated than above, testing for empty cells down the road, but never mind.) Main question is:
HOW DO I PRESERVE A3’s and B3s FORMATTING IN G3?