Paste rows into a list

When the rows you want are already in a spreadsheet and the list already has its columns, you can copy the rows and paste them in. There is no file to save and nothing to upload. Each pasted column is matched to a column of the list by its name, and the rows are added to the end of the list in one go.

Paste rows is the light way in. To turn a file into a new list, to add new columns or dropdown choices, or to bring in more than 200 rows at once, import the spreadsheet instead.

Nothing is written until you add

After you paste, the dialog shows every row and the column each value will go to. No row is added until you press the Add button at the bottom.

Paste rows into a list

1. Open the list. Below the last row, beside Add Row and Add via form, choose Paste rows. A dialog called Paste rows into and the list’s name opens.

2. In Excel or Google Sheets, select the rows you want, including the header row, and copy them.

3. Paste them in the Rows to paste box. The preview opens straight away. If you type or drop text into the box instead, choose Preview when it is ready.

4. Check the preview. Above each pasted column is the list column it will fill. To change it, choose another column from that picker, or choose (skip column) to leave the pasted column out.

   Above the rows, Fills: names the list columns that will get values, and Not added: names the pasted columns that will be left out.

5. Choose Add N rows. The rows are added to the end of the list, in the order you pasted them, and a message says how many were added.

To start again with different rows, choose Paste different rows in the preview.

How pasted columns are matched

• With a header row, each pasted column goes to the list column with the same name. Case, accents and punctuation are ignored, so Due date, due-date and DUE DATE all find a column called Due date.
• Each list column is filled from one pasted column. If two headers name the same list column, the first one fills it and the second is left out.
• Without a header row, columns are matched by position: the first pasted column fills the list’s first column, the second fills the second, and so on. Pasted columns past the list’s last column are left out.
• The header is spotted for you. The first row counts as a header when at least one of its cells names a column of the list and there is a row below it. Tick or untick First row is a header to change that, and the matches are worked out again.
• Every match can be changed in the picker above the column.

Two pasted columns cannot fill the same list column. If you pick the same list column twice, the dialog says so, and the Add button stays off until you choose another column for one of them or skip it.

Columns that link to another list

A Link to another list column is never offered in the picker, because a spreadsheet value has no way of saying which row in the other list it means. Fill those by hand after the paste.

Cells that do not fit their column

Each cell is checked against the type of the list column it is going to. A cell that does not fit is marked in red, and you can hover over it to see why. Its row is marked skip and is not added. The footer counts the rows that will be skipped, and every other row is added.

Column type	What a pasted cell must be
Number, Currency	A plain number, such as 1200 or 1200.50. A thousands separator, a currency symbol or a word makes it unreadable.
Rating	A whole number from 0 to 5
Date	A date such as 2026-11-30. Other forms are read by your browser, so 11/30/2026 works in a US English browser. Years from 1970 to 2099.
Checkbox	Yes, Y, True, 1, X or Checked ticks it. No, N, False, 0 or Unchecked leaves it clear. Capitals do not matter.
Dropdown	One of the column’s choices, spelled exactly as the choice is
Multi-select	Choices of the column, separated by commas or semicolons
Text, Multi-line, URL, Email, Phone	Anything. The cell is added as you pasted it.

A paste never adds a new choice to a dropdown or multi-select column. Add the choice to the column first, then paste again.

To bring in the rows that were skipped, fix them in your spreadsheet and paste just those rows. Pasting the whole block again would add every other row a second time, because a paste always adds rows and never updates the ones you have.

Undoing a paste

There is no undo button for a paste. To take the rows out again, tick the box at the start of each pasted row, choose Delete, then Delete rows. The rows go to the recycle bin, so you can bring them back if you change your mind.

Pasted rows sit at the end of the list, so they are easy to find unless you have sorted the list another way.

Things worth knowing

• Workflows do not run for pasted rows. A workflow that fires when a row is added would otherwise fire once for every pasted row, and one paste could send an email per row. The dialog says so before you add.
• What you see is what is pasted. A formula arrives as the value it shows, and a number formatted as $1,200.00 arrives with the symbol and the comma, which a Number column cannot read. Set those cells to a plain number format before you copy.
• Empty cells stay empty. A row whose matched cells are all empty is left out, and it is not counted as an error.
• Ctrl+V on the grid is a different thing. Pressing Ctrl+V (Cmd+V on a Mac) on the list itself pastes into the cells you have selected, which changes rows you already have. Paste rows adds new ones.

Limits

Rows per paste	200
Filled cells per paste	3,000. Empty cells do not count
Where the rows go	The end of the list, in the order you pasted them
Column types	Every type except Link to another list

A paste over a limit adds nothing, and the dialog shows a message that names the limit. For a wide paste it also says how many rows fit. Paste the rows in smaller blocks, or import the file, which takes up to 5,000 rows at a time.

Pasted rows also count toward your plan’s list-row limit, the same as rows added any other way. A paste that would go past it is refused, and nothing is added.

Who can paste rows

Anyone who can add rows to the list. A project Viewer cannot, and neither can someone with view-only access to a restricted list, so for them the button does not appear.

Paste rows is available on every plan.

FAQs

Do I have to copy the header row? No, but it helps. With a header row, columns are matched by name. Without one, they are matched by position, so either copy the columns in the same order as the list or pick each one in the picker.

Can a paste create new columns or dropdown choices? No. A paste fills the columns the list already has. To add columns or choices from a spreadsheet, import it instead. Its review step can create both.

Why is a row marked skip? At least one of its cells does not fit its column. Hover over the red cell to see the reason, such as a word in a number column or a value that is not one of the dropdown’s choices. Fix it in your spreadsheet and paste that row again.

Why can I not press Add? Either no row would be added, because no pasted column fills a list column or every row is empty or skipped, or two pasted columns fill the same list column. The dialog says which.

Can I paste more than 200 rows? Not in one paste. Paste them in blocks of up to 200, or import the file, which takes up to 5,000 rows.

Where do I find the button? Below the last row of the list, beside Add Row and Add via form. If you cannot add rows to the list, the button is not there for you.

Related

• Import a spreadsheet into a list, for a whole file, a new list, or new columns
• Share a folder or list, who can view or add to a list
• Restore from the recycle bin, where deleted rows go