A spreadsheet application displays a spreadsheet of cells in tabular form. User input is received specifying an input range of cells of the spreadsheet, a destination range of cells of the spreadsheet and a local modification. A memory stores a representation of the spreadsheet indicating formatting, values and formulas. An update of the representation is computed by applying the local modifications to the representation. Values of cells of the input range of the spreadsheet are calculated by using the updated representation and the calculated values are displayed at the destination range.