How to use Copycell

Open a file

Choose File, then Open (⌘O), drag a file onto the window, or pick one from Recent Files. Copycell opens CSV and tab-separated files, and Excel workbooks (.xlsx).

Or skip the file: copy some cells in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets, or a table on a web page, then choose File, then New from Clipboard (⇧⌘V), or just press ⌘V in an empty window.

From a workbook, Copycell reads the first visible sheet. Formulas show their last result. From Numbers, choose File, then Export To, then Excel or CSV.

Copy cells

In Copy mode, click any cell and it's on your clipboard, ready to paste anywhere. The cell turns green with a small COPIED tag, so you can see what you've already done. Copycell remembers this for each file, so you can close it and carry on later.

Click a row number to copy the whole row, or a column letter to copy the whole column. (Turn on Rulers in the toolbar to show row numbers and column letters.)

Choose how rows and ranges are copied with Copy Format in the toolbar: plain text, CSV, Markdown, an HTML table or JSON.

Copy by typing

Every cell has a name made of its column letter and row number: the third column of row 4 is C4. With a file open, just type a name to copy that cell, no clicking needed. Type only a letter (B) for a whole column, or only a number (5) for a whole row.

Copycell waits a moment after your last key before copying. Change how long in Settings, under Typing Delay.

Paste & Next

For filling in forms or another app one value at a time. Copy the first cell as normal, then switch to the other app and press ⌃⌥V (Control-Option-V). Copycell pastes the cell tagged NEXT and moves on. Keep pressing it to work down the list without going back to Copycell.

1. Click the first cell you need, for example a name.
2. Switch to your browser and paste it with ⌘V as usual.
3. Click the next field, press ⌃⌥V. Repeat.

In Settings, choose whether it moves down the column (one list into another) or across the row (one form per contact). Empty cells are skipped.

Prefer to click? Press ⇧⌘R (or Card in the toolbar) for the Row Card: the current row as a small panel that floats over every app. Click a field to copy it, then paste. It follows the row you last copied, and the arrows step through the rows.

The first time, macOS asks you to allow Copycell under Privacy & Security, then Accessibility, so it can press ⌘V for you. Without it, ⌃⌥V still copies the next cell and you press ⌘V yourself.

The seven modes

Modes change what a click does. Switch with the toolbar or ⌘1 to ⌘7.

Mark your progress

In Marking mode, select a cell, a range, or a whole row (click its number), then press a number key. Each key is a mark with its own name, icon and colour:

• 1 Copied
• 2 Called
• 3 Contacted
• 4 Emailed
• 5 No Answer
• 6 In Progress
• 7 Done

Press ⌫ to clear a mark. The keys are listed along the bottom of the window in Marking mode; hide that bar with Keys in the toolbar.

Rename the marks and change their icons and colours in Settings, under Mark Customization. Save a set as a template to reuse it.

Show only what's left

The row filter in the toolbar shows All Rows, Copied Rows, Marked Rows, or both. The highlight menu next to it chooses which cells are coloured. Search (⌘F) finds text anywhere in the table.

See your progress

Click Overview in the toolbar for live totals: how much of each column you've copied or marked, and how many cells carry each mark. Use the share button at the top of the panel to save it as a PDF.

Compare two files

Switch to Compare mode and click Files A/B to load a second file (B) to compare with the one that's open (A). Cells that differ are highlighted, down to the changed characters. View them layered (Overlay A or B), side by side, or one at a time.

Try it with the sample list and its updated version.

Formulas

Start a cell with = to use a formula, such as =SUM(C2:C20) or =VLOOKUP("Ava", A2:D20, 3, FALSE). Copycell supports over 100 Excel functions. Formula mode shows the formulas themselves; other modes show their results.

See every formula, with examples →

Rename files

In Renamer mode, choose a folder and it appears next to your data. Copy a cell (for example a person's name), select a file, and press Return: the file takes that name. Select several files and copy several cells to rename them all at once.

In Settings, choose a naming style (such as kebab-case) and how duplicates are numbered. Every rename can be undone with ⌘Z.

Save and export

Changed some cells in Edit mode? File, then Save (⌘S) writes your edits back into the CSV you opened, keeping its separators and line endings. A dot in the window's red close button means there are edits you haven't saved yet.

Your copied and marked cells are remembered automatically. To keep them together with the data, for example to send to someone, choose File, then Save As to make a Copycell file. File, then Export saves the table as CSV, Markdown, HTML or JSON.

If another app changed the CSV after you opened it, Copycell asks before overwriting, and offers Save As instead.

Automate with Shortcuts

Copycell adds actions to Apple's Shortcuts app. Search for Copycell there to find:

• Get Cell: the value of a cell, such as B5
• Get Row: every value in a row, as a list
• Get Next Cell: the cell tagged NEXT, then moves on, like Paste & Next
• Mark Row: marks a row, like pressing 1 to 7 in Marking mode
• Open in Copycell: opens a CSV or Excel file

The actions work on the sheet in the Copycell window you used last. For example, a shortcut could take the next email address and start a new message to it.

Keyboard shortcuts