Paste Values Only Shortcut in Google Sheets

A standard paste in Google Sheets brings everything across. The values, the formulas, the formatting, the data validation. Sometimes that’s exactly what you want.

Often it isn’t. You just want the numbers or the text, not the bold red header style from the source sheet and not the formula that pulled the value in the first place.

A single keystroke pastes the rendered values only and leaves the rest behind.

Paste Values Only Keyboard Shortcut in Google Sheets

Paste Values Only Keyboard Shortcut (Windows Windows)

Ctrl + Shift + V

Paste Values Only Keyboard Shortcut (Mac Mac)

⌘ + Shift + V

What this shortcut does

The shortcut pastes the rendered result of the source cells. Whatever the source showed on screen lands in the destination as plain text or a plain number.

Formulas in the source get replaced with their results. A cell that read =SUM(A1:A10) and showed 450 arrives in the new spot as the literal value 450.

Formatting from the source (bold, colors, borders, currency symbols, percent signs) is stripped. The destination cell keeps its own formatting. Data validation rules and conditional formatting from the source don’t come across either.

How to use it (step by step)

  1. Select the cells you want to copy. Press Ctrl + C on Windows or ⌘ + C on Mac.
  2. Click the destination cell. If you’re pasting a range, click the top-left cell of the target area.
  3. Press the shortcut for your platform.
  4. The values land in the destination as plain text or numbers, with no formulas and no source formatting.

Quick example. Column A has formulas like =B1*C1 calculating totals, and the cells are styled with a gray background and bold text.

Select A1 to A10, copy with Ctrl + C, and click into cell E1.

Press the shortcut. E1 to E10 now hold the calculated totals as static numbers, with no bold, no gray fill, and no formula. The values won’t change even if B or C does later.

Alternative method (Edit menu and right-click)

Two more routes to the same paste:

  • Edit → Paste special → Values only from the menu.
  • Right-click the destination cell, then Paste special → Values only.

Paste special also has neighbours worth knowing about:

  • Format only does the opposite. It paints the source’s formatting onto the destination but leaves the destination’s values intact.
  • Formula only brings the formula text across without the formatting.
  • Conditional formatting only copies just the rules.

Things to watch for

  • Checkboxes turn into text. A copied checkbox cell pastes as the word TRUE or FALSE. The clickable checkbox is gone because the data validation rule that made it a checkbox didn’t come along.
  • Dropdowns lose their list. A cell with a dropdown menu pastes as plain text. The data validation rule has to be set up again on the destination.
  • Cell links and rich text formatting are dropped. A clickable link in the source pastes as the underlying URL or display text, with no hyperlink.
  • Breaking formula chains, on purpose. This is one of the most useful uses. Copy a column of formulas, paste values only over the same range, and the formulas turn into static numbers. The downstream dependencies are now frozen.
  • Number formatting. The displayed value is what gets pasted. So a cell showing $1,500.00 pastes as the number 1500, formatted with the destination cell’s number style (which might be plain). If precision matters, check both ends.

Google Sheets keyboard shortcuts

Related Google Sheets shortcuts: