The simplest way to convert a range of cells from formulas to values is by copying them and using paste special to paste the values only. You can do this using the menus, or with keyboard shortcuts.
I often need to convert formulas to values in a sheet when I’ve used a formula to fix some data that I’ve imported. I make a formula to trim some spaces, remove quotes or something similar and then only want the results, and not the original data and a formula!
Formulas to values using keyboard shortcuts
Using the keyboard (at least for me) is the quickest and easiest way to accomplish many things. Removing formulas and replacing them with values is especially quick using a keyboard, as once you’ve selected the rows, you can do it with 2 shortcuts.
Here’s how to copy and paste values only step-by-step on Windows and ChromeOS:
- Select the cells with the formulas you want to remove.
- Copy them using Ctrl+c.
- Paste values only using Ctrl+Shift+v.
Here’s how to accomplish that on a Mac:
- Select the cells with the formulas you want to remove
- Copy them using ⌘+c.
- Paste values only using ⌘+Shift+v.
Using the menus to remove formulas
If you’re not a lover of keyboard shortcuts, here’s the sequence to copy and paste values only using the menus:
- Select the cells with the formulas you want to remove
- Copy them using the menu option Edit > Copy
- Paste the values only using the menu option Edit > Paste special > Values only
It’s as simple as that!
Removing all the formulas on a sheet
To perform this operation for an entire Google sheet, you first need to select the entire sheet.
- Select the entire sheet, hit Ctrl+a (⌘+a on Mac), or click the part of the sheet where the row and column headers meet.
- Copy the cells using the menu option Edit > Copy or the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+c (⌘+c on Mac)
- Paste only the values back using the menu option Edit > Paste special > Values only or the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+shift+c (⌘+shift+c on Mac)
