To copy and paste in Excel while preserving formatting, use Paste Special instead of standard paste. After copying your cells (Ctrl+C), right-click the destination and select "Paste Special," or use Ctrl+Shift+V. In the Paste Special dialog, you'll see various options: choose "All" to paste both values and formatting, or select specific elements like "Formats" if you only want the visual styling without changing values.
Alternatively, use the Paste Options button that appears automatically after pasting—a small icon near the pasted content offers quick choices like "Keep Source Formatting" to maintain the original appearance.
For Mac users, the keyboard shortcut is Cmd+Ctrl+V. If you're pasting into a range with existing formatting you want to preserve, use "Values & Source Formatting" in Paste Special to ensure the source format overwrites the destination.
A common workflow: copy cells (Ctrl+C), click the destination cell, then Ctrl+Shift+V to open Paste Special, select "All," and click OK. This preserves colors, fonts, borders, number formats, and all other styling. If you frequently paste with formatting, you can also use the Format Painter tool (brush icon in the toolbar) to copy formatting from one range and apply it to another separately from the data.