ACC: Copy and Paste Field in Datasheet View Includes Column Name

• Microsoft Access versions 2.0, 7.0, 97

SYMPTOMS

Novice: Requires knowledge of the user interface on single-user computers.

If you select and copy the data in a cell of a table, a query, or a form in Datasheet view, when you paste the data elsewhere, the data includes the name of the column in the datasheet.

CAUSE

You selected the entire cell, not just the data in the cell. When you select and copy an entire cell in Datasheet view, Microsoft Access automatically includes the column name.

STATUS

This behavior is by design.

MORE INFORMATION

Microsoft Access provides two ways to copy and paste data from a cell in Datasheet view. You can select and copy just the data itself, or you can select and copy the entire cell. By default, copying the entire cell includes the column name.

Selecting and Copying Only the Data in a Cell

1. Open your table, query, or form in Datasheet view.

2. Click inside a cell where you want to begin selecting data, and drag the mouse pointer across the data. Make sure the pointer is an I-beam shape while you drag.

   If you want to use your keyboard to select all the data in a cell without selecting the column name, click anywhere inside the cell and press F2.

   NOTE: By using these methods, you can only select the data in a single cell of the datasheet.

Selecting and Copying an Entire Cell or Multiple Cells

Whenever you select and copy an entire cell or multiple cells in your datasheet, Microsoft Access automatically includes the column name(s) when you paste the data.

1. Open your table, query, or form in Datasheet view.

2. Point to the left or the upper edge of the cell until your pointer changes to a plus shape (or an arrow in Microsoft Access 2.0).

3. Click, and note that the entire cell is selected. If you copy and paste the data into another application, such as Notepad or Microsoft Excel, the column name will also be pasted.

REFERENCES

For more information about ways to copy or move data in Microsoft Access, search the Help Index for "copying data," or ask the Microsoft Access 97 Office Assistant.

For more information about how to select fields and records in Datasheet view, search the Help Index for "selecting fields and records," or ask the Microsoft Access 97 Office Assistant.