Drag and drop · original practice scenario
Copy a cell range by dragging its border
A2:B3 contains a small price list; E2:F3 is empty.
Start here: Selected worksheet cells; pointer on the selection border, not the fill handle
Use an empty destination: copying over occupied cells can replace their contents. The fill handle performs a different operation.
Follow these instructions in your own desktop Excel workbook. This page explains the operation; it does not send commands to Excel.
Windows keys and context
Hold Ctrl on Windows or Option (Alt) on Mac while dragging. Release the mouse before releasing the modifier.
Ctrl+Drag
Move or copy cells using a mouse / Copy cells. Microsoft reference ↗
Walk through the operation
- Select A2:B3 and point at its border.
- Hold the platform modifier and drag the selection to E2.
- Release the mouse, then the modifier.
Instruction 1 of 3: Select A2:B3 and point at its border.
Expected result: The original range stays in A2:B3 and a copy occupies E2:F3.
Recall the keys
Which listed Windows combination or sequence starts this operation in the context above?
Related walkthroughs
- Insert a copy of selected rows by dragging
- Duplicate a worksheet by dragging its tab
- Move a selected block to another worksheet
Catalog updated 2026-10-18. US keyboard notation: + joins held keys; commas separate successive presses. Function keys may require Fn. Desktop instructions are separate from this browser's own keyboard shortcuts.