I want to copy the following:

line1
line 2
line 3

into a single cell in Excel.

I know that I can use the combination Alt+Enter on Windows and Ctrl+Alt+Enter on Mac to create a line break in the cell, but here I want to copy paste in a single cell, not typing its content.

Here is what I get:

I want it in a single cell with line breaks:

5 Answers

To paste multi-line content in Excel, all you need to do is double click the new cell (so you see the arrow 'thing' blinking), and paste (ctrl + V):

2

If you have to do this for more than one cell:

1. Replace all linebreaks in word (^p or ^l) with something you can replace (I use LINEBRK).
2. Paste into Excel.
3. Replace all LINEBRK with the newline/linefeed character generated byAlt+0010 (hold down Alt on your keyboard and then hit 0010 on your number pad) or hit Ctrl + J.
4. Re-do/re-apply Wrap Text in Excel.

Source: Remove Replace or Separate by Line Breaks

4

I had the same problem now.
I found a different (in some cases a better) solution.
If you can, surround the clipboard content with quotation marks:

"line1
line 2
line 3"

1

Here's an "interesting" "funny" thing about pasting like this in Excel...

The choices currently "set" in the Data|Text to Columns functionality in the Ribbon change how Paste puts this data into a cell.

Select some data, even a single cell, and click in the Ribbon to start that function. The dialogue box appears and choose Delimited, then Next. Now you have the list of possible delimiters Excel expects adn the ability to specify a nice "Other" if you'd like. If the only one checked is Tab, you will be able to paste the kind of data you mention into a single cell with those individual bits on different lines in that cell, just as you wish here. If, for instance, Space is checked, you will see the data you wanted on separate lines in a single cell broken into wholely separate cells like you show. It goes more mutli-cells, right to left, for spaces, but I've seen it go multi-line as well with internet data.

Why? Um, who knows? Surprisingly, not many even seem to have seen this either. But basically, clear ALL those checkboxes, not hard to check them again if you really DO want to do Text to Columns, so, you know... just clear them. Then try the pasting and I'll give odds it goes just fine.

All those other approaches work too, they just require some to a LOT of extra work and other programs and so on. Use the easiest if the above does not help this time.

Answer for Office >2019

Accepted answer doesn't work in Office 2019.

The quick and dirty way after some experimenting is to copy the cells, paste them into any text editor to get rid of the formatting, copy the text from there, double click in the cell and paste.

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