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All three methods from the video on the same data, so you can compare them. Plus fourteen more Excel files. Free, instant, yours to keep.

What’s in the pack

Paste Special, filtered rows and the IF-formula method, side by side
Sample data set up so you can try each one without retyping
The Go To Special step that stops you overwriting hidden rows
Fourteen more files: shortcuts, dropdowns, timesheets, barcodes
Works in Excel 365, 2021 and 2019 — PC and Mac

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One practical Excel tip a week.

How to Multiply a Whole Column by a Number in Excel

Watch the 5-minute video or follow the written steps below. The practice file is in the free pack above.

Step-by-step

Three ways to multiply a column of numbers (prices, hours, scores) by the same value: all at once with Paste Special, only the rows you’ve filtered, or with a formula that leaves the originals untouched.

Method 1: Paste Special Multiply

1. Copy the multiplier

Type the multiplier in a spare cell, for example 1.5 in B3 to increase everything by 50%. Select it and copy (Ctrl+C, or Cmd+C on a Mac).

2. Multiply the column

Select the numbers you want to change, right-click and choose Paste Special. Under Operation, choose Multiply and click OK. Every selected number is multiplied.

This replaces the original values, it doesn’t add a formula. Press Ctrl+Z straight away if you need to undo it, or keep a copy of the original column.

Method 2: only the rows you filter

3. Filter the rows

If a column next to the numbers says Yes or No, click inside the data and go to Data > Filter. Use the drop-down on that column to show only Yes.

4. Select only the visible cells

Copy the multiplier, then select the numbers in the filtered list. Go to Home > Find & Select > Go To Special, choose Visible cells only and click OK. This stops Excel touching the hidden rows.

5. Paste Special Multiply

Right-click the selection, choose Paste Special > Multiply and click OK. Clear the filter and you’ll see that only the Yes rows changed.

Method 3: an IF formula (keeps the originals)

6. Write the formula in a new column

With the numbers in column A, Yes/No in column B and the multiplier in B3, enter in the first row of an empty column (row 6 in the example):

=IF(B6="Yes",A6*$B$3,A6)

In plain words: if column B says Yes, multiply the number; otherwise keep it as it is. The dollar signs lock the multiplier so it doesn’t move when you copy. Copy the formula down. Your original data stays untouched, and you can change the multiplier any time.

YOUR NEXT STEP

Three ways to do one thing. Knowing which is the skill.

Paste Special is fastest but destroys your original. The IF formula keeps it and costs you a column. Filtered rows need Go To Special or you quietly change data you can’t see. Most of Excel is like this — several routes, each with a trade-off nobody mentions. The course is a hundred of those decisions.

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Andreas Exadaktylos · Microsoft-certified Excel instructor · mellontraining.com