Copy and paste in Excel does have some "peculiarities."

In at least some older versions, if you use Edit|Copy you can then use Edit|Paste Special, and can choose whether to paste values, formulas, Paste All (values and formulas), or a couple of other "selective forms."

If you use the shortcut "Ctl-C" to copy, the "Paste Special" choices may not be available. Using the shortcut "Ctl-V" to paste, in at least one older version I've used recently, nearly always pastes Values.

You can "copy down" by selecting a cell and dragging it down through a range of other cells, and you'll copy Values or "incrmented values" - unless you click on the lower right corner of the cell to be copied - where the cursor changes to a +. If you drag the "+" down it will copy "formulas" or "formulas incremented" depending on the initial selection. (That's a sort of vague description, but the best I can think of to describe what happens.)

You can also double-click on the "plus point" of a cell to copy formulas down to match the length of the left-adjacent column.

All probably not particularly relevant to the original question, as you appear to have described what you're doing to your own satisfaction; but not everyone else may be aware of the the variations possible.

John