How to Use Format Painter in Excel for Multiple Sheets

Q: What is the shortcut in Excel to copy formatting?

Click on the cell with the format that you want. > Press Alt+H+F+P to activate Format Painter > Click on the cell where you want to copy the formatting.

The Format Painter in Excel is like a quick copy-paste tool for formatting. You can copy formatting from one sheet and apply it to multiple sheets to make everything look the same without a lot of effort.

In this Excel tutorial, you are going to learn how to use Format Painter to copy formatting for multiple sheets.

As you can see in the GIF below, we have copied the formatting from the range in the sheet “Sales Department” to the other two sheets.

Step-by-Step Procedures to Use Format Painter in Excel for Multiple Sheets

In Microsoft Excel, the Format Painter tool can be used to copy formatting from one cell or range and apply it to another. You can even copy the formatting of shapes and conditional formatting from one sheet to another using this feature.

To use Format Painter across multiple sheets, here’s how you can do it:

Go to the sheet containing the cell or range with the desired formatting.
Select the cell or range of cells in the sheet with the formatting you want to copy.
Go to the Home tab > Clipboard > double-click on Format Painter from the Clipboard
Switch to the other sheet while Format Painter is active.
We will use the formatting from the range (B4:F14) on the “Sales Department” sheet and apply it to the “Marketing Department”, sheet in that workbook.
Click or drag over the target cells or range to apply the formatting.
This will apply the formatting to the cells in the “Marketing Department” sheet as shown below.
Again, navigate to the other sheet and select the cells/range where you want to apply the desired formatting.
As a result, this will also format the cells in the “IT Department” sheet.

Note: You can either press the “Esc” key or click on the Format Painter button again to deactivate it.

Download Practice Workbook

Format Painter for Multiple Sheets.xlsx

Conclusion

So, in this article, we have described step-by-step procedures for using Format Painter in Excel for multiple sheets. Apply the procedures to copy your desired formatting to multiple sheets. I hope you will find this article helpful and informative. Feel free to leave a comment if something seems difficult to understand.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to Use Format Painter in Excel for Multiple Workbooks?

To copy formatting between different Excel workbooks, you can follow a similar procedure as before. The first thing you need to do is open all the workbooks. In the first file, double-click Format Painter, choose the cells or range with the style you want, and then go to the other Excel workbooks. Then, click on the cells or range where you want the same style.

What is the shortcut in Excel to copy formatting?

Click on the cell with the format that you want > Press Alt+H+F+P to activate Format Painter > Click on the cell where you want to copy the formatting.