Add a Certain Number to All Numbers in a Range

July 12, 2002 - by Bill Jelen

Phillip asks:

I made an spreadsheet for the the tax rates in Kansas. The rates for the whole state changed and I need to add .4 to every number in my spreadsheet. is there an easier way than manually?

Yes! There is a cool trick with Paste Special Add.

1. Find a blank cell in your spreadsheet.
2. Enter 0.4 in that cell
3. Select that cell and do Edit > Copy
4. Now, select every tax rate in your spreadsheet.
5. From the menu, do Edit > Paste Special...
6. In the paste special dialog box, select Values in the top section, and "Add" in the Operation section. Click OK.

This will add the contents of the clipboard (0.4) to every number in the selected range.