Copying column widths is easy to do in Excel.
We only need to:
- Select the columns to copy and press CTRL + C.
- Highlight the columns where we’d like to paste the column widths.
- Press CTRL + ALT + V to open the “Paste Special” menu.
- From the Paste Options, select “Column width” and click OK.
And that’s it! We are good to go. Easy-peasy, right?
Excel, unfortunately, doesn’t have a similar feature for copying row heights. But don’t worry! In this article, I’ll show you four methods to copy row height in Excel.
Each of them has its own merits and demerits, so pick whichever is best for your needs.
Table of Contents
#1: Copy row height manually
This method is probably the most straightforward approach. The goal is to get the row height of the rows you want to copy and apply that to your selected rows. That’s it.
To do this:
1. Select the entire row that you would like to copy. You can do this by clicking on the corresponding row number at the left.
2. Go to the Home tab, click the Format button, and select Row Height.
3. The Row Height menu will appear.
Notice that the row height inside the textbox is highlighted. Right-click on it and select Copy.
IMPORTANT: If the row height is blank, it means you have selected multiple rows with varying row heights. Repeat the first step and make sure to only select one row.
4. Once you have copied the row height, close the Row Height menu.
5. Next, select the row(s) you would like to paste the row height.
To paste it on multiple rows, click on the first row. Then, while holding the SHIFT key, click on the last row.
6. Once selected, right-click on one of the selected rows. In the list of options, click Row Height.
Note that this is another way to open the Row Height menu.
7. Once the Row Height menu appears, paste the row height we copied earlier.
You can do this by deleting the existing row height, if any, and right-clicking on the textbox and selecting Paste.
And that’s it! You should now have the same row height for the rows that you have selected.
#2: Copy row height with a keyboard shortcut
This method is practically the same as the first one. The only difference is that we will do the steps using keyboard shortcuts. If you have a lot of row heights to change, this will help you do the update fast.
1. Select a cell from the row that you’d like to copy.
2. Press ALT + H + O + H.
The row height menu will appear. Take note of the row height that appears (or copy it if that’s easier).
3. Close the Row Height menu.
4. Now, select the cells (or the rows) where you would like to apply the same row height.
5. Press ALT + H + O + H again.
In the row height menu, type the desired row height (or paste it if you copied it earlier) and click OK.
6. And that’s it! You have the row heights adjusted in your selected cells.
#3: Copy row height using Format Painter
If your goal is to copy multiple rows with varying row heights at one time (e.g., 20, 14, 10, 13), then you might prefer the last two methods that I’m about to show you.
The only disadvantage of both these methods is that you will be copying not only the row height but also the format of the cells. If this is not an issue for you, then please read on so you can try it out.
1. Select the rows that you would like to copy.
2. Go to the Home tab and press on the Format Painter button.
If you prefer a keyboard shortcut, you can press ALT + H + F + P.
You’ll know that the Format Painter is activated once you see the broken lines surrounding the rows.
3. Next, select the rows where you would like to paste the row height.
IMPORTANT: Click and drag the mouse on the row numbers (not on the cells).
Once you release the mouse, the format of the previous cells will be applied (along with the row height).
And that’s it! Feel free to change the format of the cells within the selected rows.
#4: Copy row height by copying the entire row
Format Painter can be tricky to use because once you’ve activated it, you need to make sure that all the rows where you would like the format to be pasted on are all selected at once.
Otherwise, you’ll have to redo the steps, which can be really frustrating.
Personally, I don’t like Format Painter that much because I tend to miss some of the rows, so I always end up repeating the steps.
So, as an alternative, I would instead copy the rows, paste them wherever necessary, and then remove the values after that. If this sounds good to you, then please read on.
Here’s the step-by-step guide:
1. Select all the rows that you would like to copy.
Do this by clicking on the first row, and while pressing the SHIFT key, click on the last row.
2. Press CTRL + C to copy.
3. Select all the rows where you would like to paste the row height.
You can take your time here. The rows are still in “copy mode” even if you are selecting different rows.
4. Once you’re happy with the selected rows, press CTRL + V to paste.
5. Then, while the cells are still selected, press DEL to delete the values.
6. If you also need to change the format, then please go ahead.
And that’s it! You have the same row heights applied to the selected cells.
Conclusion
Even though Excel doesn’t offer the “copy row height” feature, there are still ways for you to implement it. I hope the methods listed above are of great help to you.