How to Cut and Paste Columns in Excel

The video shows two methods for cutting and pasting columns in Microsoft Excel. The method of holding the Shift key is universal and faster than selecting cut and paste from the cursor menu or the ribbon.

Other than efficiency, one reason to cut and paste columns instead of inserting and deleting columns as required is that moving cells by cutting and pasting will not break any formulas. All the formulas in your spreadsheet will update when a cell gets moved. If you delete a cell then formulas will replace the references with a REF error, even if you are restating it elsewhere on the worksheet.

The method of holding shift to cut and paste cells can in theory be used with smaller ranges. When using this shortcut, Excel gives you the normal options of inserting cells above, or to the left of other cells. This is indicated by a green bar stretching horizontally or vertically on the worksheet that indicates the gap that the cut cells will fill.

If you plan to move a column to a different position in an Excel table by selecting the table cells only, the rules change in that you no longer have to hold Shift. If you hold Shift, Excel takes that as a signal that you wish to overwrite the destination cells. One problem with moving just the cells in the table is that the overall column widths remain unaffected. If you have configured your table's column widths to reflect the data they hold, your work will essentially be lost between the source and destination locations on your worksheet. This can be problematic if you have data above the table that you don't wish to move.

By Ed Bolton, founder of Excel4Business Ltd. Last reviewed October 2026.