Copy, cut, and paste

What it does

Select a cell and press Ctrl+C to copy or Ctrl+X to cut, then select a target and press Ctrl+V to paste.

• Copy + paste adjusts the formula's relative references by the paste offset — =A1+B1 copied from C1 to C3 becomes =A3+B3, while $-anchored parts stay put (=$A$1+B1 → =$A$1+B3). The source is left untouched and the clipboard stays loaded, so you can paste it again.
• Cut + paste moves the range: every reference into the cut range follows it to its new address — whether that reference is in a formula that's itself part of the moved range, or in a completely different cell elsewhere on the sheet. A reference to something outside the cut range is left exactly as written. The source is cleared and the clipboard is consumed after that one paste.
• While a cut is pending, the cut range is marked with a dashed border so it reads as distinct from a plain selection, and pasting never interrupts you for clipboard permission.

Verified behavior

Matches Google Sheets: In Google Sheets, copying a formula and pasting it adjusts the formula's relative references by the row/column offset (copying "=A1+B1" from C1 to C3 yields "=A3+B3"), while $-anchored parts stay fixed ("=$A$1+B1" → "=$A$1+B3"); copy leaves the source and the clipboard intact, so it can be pasted again. Cutting and pasting instead MOVES the range: every reference anywhere in the workbook that points at a cell inside the cut range is rewritten to follow that cell to its new address — whether the reference lives in a formula that is itself part of the moved range (e.g. cutting two cells together where one formula refers to the other) or in a completely different, untouched cell elsewhere on the sheet. A reference to a cell that was NOT part of the cut range is left exactly as written either way, since nothing it points at moved. While a cut is pending (cut but not yet pasted), Sheets marks the range with a dashed border, visually distinct from a plain selection; pasting never prompts for clipboard permission.

Copy a relative formula and paste — references shift by the offset

Given

• A1 = 10
• B1 = 20
• C1 = =A1+B1
• A3 = 5
• B3 = 7

When I click C1, then press Control+c, then click C3, then press Control+v

Then

• C3 shows 12
• C1 shows 30
• C3 has formula =A3+B3
• C1 has formula =A1+B1

Copy shifts references by both the row and the column offset

Given

• A1 = 10
• B1 = 20
• C1 = =A1+B1
• B3 = 7
• C3 = 5

When I click C1, then press Control+c, then click D3, then press Control+v

Then

• D3 shows 12
• D3 has formula =B3+C3

Cut and paste — a reference to a cell OUTSIDE the cut range is left as written (moves unchanged)

Given

• A1 = 10
• B1 = 20
• C1 = =A1+B1

When I click C1, then press Control+x, then click C3, then press Control+v

Then

• C3 shows 30
• C1 shows null
• C3 has formula =A1+B1

Cut and paste a block — a formula's reference to another cell in the SAME block follows the move

Given

• A1 = 10
• A2 = =A1*2

When I select A1:A2, then press Control+x, then click A5, then press Control+v

Then

• A5 shows 10
• A6 shows 20
• A1 shows null
• A2 shows null
• A6 has formula =A5*2

Cut and paste — an untouched formula elsewhere that referenced the cut cell follows the move too

Given

• A1 = 10
• B1 = =A1+5

When I click A1, then press Control+x, then click A5, then press Control+v

Then

• A5 shows 10
• B1 shows 15
• B1 has formula =A5+5