So in Excel 2013 (v15.x), is there still no one-step way to apply an arbitrary formula to all selected cells or am I just missing it? The closest thing I see here on search is the answer to this question:
How do you apply a function to all values in selected cells?
...in which you select a number in one cell, then Paste Special to a new range of cells, and within Paste Special you can select Add, Subtract, Multiply or Divide.
But often I need a complex formula in which the only variable may be the cell itself. One application is to prepare a received sheet for import to SQL or some other context.
So to modify a range of cells in Column A (say, swap first/last words within each cell and substitute punctuation), I do all of the following steps:
Insert a new Column B next to A. (Or work in an existing blank area of the sheet.)
Put my formula in B1 referencing A1, for instance.
Drag-fill the formula as far down Column B as needed and verify results are as expected.
Ctrl-C to select the now-already-highlighted range in B.
Right-click the first cell of the corresponding range in A.
Select Paste Special > Values and verify results.
Delete Column B (or whatever intermediate range I used).
Now certainly the number 7 has several historically revered magical properties, but I keep thinking this can't possibly be the right or simplest way in 2015, in the market-leading spreadsheet, to do something I need so often. Doesn't everybody else? I've got to be overlooking a shortcut that everyone knows except me.
What if it's just a simple built-in function like UPPER()? Any way to do that to a selection without creating an intermediate copy or a macro?
If somehow it's not just me, do any of the alternatives like LibreCalc provide a straightforward shortcut?
ON EDIT: Re-reading my question after seeing one answer, I suspect I wasn't clear enough that the purpose of applying the formula to e.g. cell A14 (among many) is to compute a new value for A14 derived from the original value of A14 and leave only a value (not a formula) in the cell. For instance the value of each cell might become value&"-obs" i.e. ("ABC" becomes "ABC-obs") or something more complicated than that. But I guess the essence of the problem is handling intentional self-reference to 1 iteration, storing the value of a formula and not the formula itself.