WPS Format Painter on Windows: Introduction

WPS Format Painter on Windows helps you copy cell or range formatting quickly; this guide covers 2 core tasks, with 2 available without membership and 0 membership-related items.

At a Glance

Metric	Value	Notes
Core tasks	2	Matches the number of rows in the How-to Index
Available without membership	2	Matches the number of Free rows in the index
Membership-related items	0	Matches the number of membership-related rows in the index

About This Feature

Overview

Format Painter is a built-in formatting tool in WPS Spreadsheet for Windows. It lets you copy the display format of one cell or range, such as font, color, border, and alignment, and apply it to another location.

Core tasks include:

Use Format Painter once to copy formatting from a source cell or range and apply it to one target area.
Use Format Painter continuously by double-clicking it, then apply the same formatting to multiple target areas before exiting.

This feature is useful for standardizing report layouts, organizing spreadsheet styles in batches, and reducing repeated manual formatting. It copies formatting only and does not copy cell content or formulas.

System Requirements

Item	Requirement
Operating system	A Windows device that can run WPS Office normally
App version	The latest version of WPS Office is recommended
Network	No required internet connection for local Format Painter actions
Other	Open a WPS spreadsheet file with editing permission

Download & Installation

Item	Details
Official download	WPS Office Free Download
Post-install check	Open WPS Office, open a spreadsheet file, and check the Home tab for the Format Painter entry

Source: WPS download page

Compare with Alternatives

Dimension	WPS	Microsoft	Google	Notion	Adobe
Capability Summary	In WPS Spreadsheet, Format Painter is available from the Home tab and supports both one-time and continuous formatting copy without changing cell content.	Excel lets you copy cell formatting from Home > Format Painter and drag across a target cell or range.	Google Sheets provides Paint format to copy formatting for text, cells, or objects, and double-clicking allows repeated use.	Notion databases support property types, conditional color, and view-level display settings, but they do not provide a spreadsheet-style Format Painter workflow.	Acrobat focuses on PDF text and object editing, and its desktop help centers on PDF editing rather than spreadsheet-style cell format painting.
WPS Advantages	Advantage: WPS provides both one-time and continuous formatting copy directly in a spreadsheet workflow, which is practical for quickly standardizing cell styles.	Compared with WPS: Excel also supports Format Painter with a similar Home-tab workflow for copying cell formatting.	Compared with WPS: Google Sheets offers a similar paint format tool, mainly in a web-based toolbar workflow.	Compared with WPS: Notion focuses more on database properties and view settings than direct cell-by-cell format copying.	Compared with WPS: Adobe Acrobat is designed for PDF editing rather than spreadsheet formatting workflows.
Official Source	—	Copy cell formatting in Excel	Copy formatting with paint format in Google Docs Editors	Database properties in Notion	Acrobat Desktop Help

Overall Conclusion
If your main task is to standardize cell formatting in spreadsheets, WPS Format Painter provides a direct and easy-to-follow workflow. Compared with spreadsheet peers, it covers both one-time and repeated formatting scenarios, while Notion and Adobe focus on different product workflows.

Use Cases

#	Scenario	Target Users	Core Pain Point	Solution
1	Standardize header styles	Report editors	Multiple headers need the same font and fill settings	Set one header style first, then apply it with Format Painter
2	Copy borders and fill colors in batches	Everyday office users	Adjacent areas have inconsistent styles and manual edits take time	Use one-time Format Painter and drag across the target range
3	Format multiple separate areas	Finance and admin staff	Several non-adjacent areas need the same style	Double-click Format Painter and apply it to each target area
4	Keep formulas while unifying appearance	Data maintenance staff	The layout must be unified without changing formulas	Use Format Painter to copy formatting only
5	Fix inconsistent layout quickly	New spreadsheet users	Adjusting alignment, borders, and colors one by one is repetitive	Copy formatting from a finished sample cell or range

Membership & Benefits

Free vs WPS Premium

Feature	Free User	WPS Premium
Writer, Spreadsheet, and Presentation core apps	✅ Available	✅ Available
Basic Format Painter usage	✅ Available	✅ Available
Some advanced PDF and AI features	Limited or provided as listed on the page	✅ Broader access depending on plan
Cloud storage	1 GB	20 GB or more depending on the plan page

Source: WPS Office pricing page

Recommendations

Use Case	Recommended Plan	Reason
Everyday spreadsheet formatting and basic style cleanup	Free	Format Painter itself is available for common spreadsheet formatting tasks
More PDF tools, AI features, or larger cloud storage	WPS Premium	Suitable when you need broader office benefits beyond basic formatting

Subscribe here: Get WPS Premium