Best Way To Copy & Paste Special Values Only With VBA
What This VBA Macro Code Does
The following two examples of VBA code show you how you can automate copy and pasting values only with an Excel range.
Using The Copy/PasteSpecial Method
This is the VBA code version of how you would manually paste values only in Excel with your mouse and keyboard. The code is simply copying a range and pasting the values only in a destination range. I like throwing in a line of code that clears out the clipboard so the marching ants are not still walking around your range after the macro code has run (just a personal preference).
This method probably makes the most sense to beginners as it mimics the manual steps you are accustomed to doing, however, it is not the most efficient way!
See the next method to optimize your code even more.
Sub PasteSpecial_ValuesOnly()
'PURPOSE: How To Paste Values Only With PasteSpecial
'SOURCE: www.TheSpreadsheetGuru.com/the-code-vault
'Copy A Range of Data
Worksheets("Sheet1").Range("A1:Z100").Copy
'PasteSpecial Values Only
Worksheets("Sheet2").Range("A1").PasteSpecial Paste:=xlPasteValues
'Clear Clipboard (removes "marching ants" around your original data set)
Application.CutCopyMode = False
End SubUsing The Transfer Method
This method forgoes using the Copy/Paste clipboard altogether. What is the benefit of this you might be asking yourself? One word…SPEED!
If you are needing to “paste values only” on a large amount of data or numerous iterations in a row, you definitely should use this method over the PasteSpecial method.
The only tricky part is making sure the two ranges you are “transferring” between are exactly the same size. By using the code I show below, you shouldn’t have a problem with this at all since the two ranges are guaranteed to be the same size.
Sub TransferValuesOnly()
'PURPOSE: How To Paste Values Only Without Copy/Pasting
'SOURCE: www.TheSpreadsheetGuru.com/the-code-vault
'NOTE: Ranges must be the EXACT same size to use this method
Dim rng As Range
'Grab Some Data and Store it in a "Range" variable
Set rng = Worksheets("Sheet1").Range("A1:Z100")
'Transfer Values to same spot in another worksheet (Mimics PasteSpecial Values Only)
Worksheets("Sheet2").Range("A1").Resize(rng.Rows.Count, rng.Columns.Count).Cells.Value = rng.Cells.Value
End SubUsing VBA Code Found On The Internet
Now that you’ve found some VBA code that could potentially solve your Excel automation problem, what do you do with it? If you don’t necessarily want to learn how to code VBA and are just looking for the fastest way to implement this code into your spreadsheet, I wrote an article (with video) that explains how to get the VBA code you’ve found running on your spreadsheet.
Getting Started Automating Excel
Are you new to VBA and not sure where to begin? Check out my quickstart guide to learning VBA. This article won’t overwhelm you with fancy coding jargon, as it provides you with a simplistic and straightforward approach to the basic things I wish I knew when trying to teach myself how to automate tasks in Excel with VBA Macros.
Also, if you haven’t checked out Excel’s latest automation feature called Power Query, I have put together a beginner’s guide for automating with Excel’s Power Query feature as well! This little-known built-in Excel feature allows you to merge and clean data automatically with little to no coding!
How Do I Modify This To Fit My Specific Needs?
Chances are this post did not give you the exact answer you were looking for. We all have different situations and it’s impossible to account for every particular need one might have. That’s why I want to share with you: My Guide to Getting the Solution to your Problems FAST! In this article, I explain the best strategies I have come up with over the years to get quick answers to complex problems in Excel, PowerPoint, VBA, you name it!
I highly recommend that you check this guide out before asking me or anyone else in the comments section to solve your specific problem. I can guarantee that 9 times out of 10, one of my strategies will get you the answer(s) you are needing faster than it will take me to get back to you with a possible solution. I try my best to help everyone out, but sometimes I don’t have time to fit everyone’s questions in (there never seem to be quite enough hours in the day!).
I wish you the best of luck and I hope this tutorial gets you heading in the right direction!
After 10+ years of creating macros and developing add-ins, I've compiled all the hacks I wish I had known years ago!
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Chris Newman
Chris is a finance professional and Excel MVP recognized by Microsoft since 2016. With his expertise, he founded TheSpreadsheetGuru blog to help fellow Excel users, where he shares his vast creative solutions & expertise. In addition, he has developed over 7 widely-used Excel Add-ins that have been embraced by individuals and companies worldwide.