Use AutoFill to fill in data…With the AutoFill feature, you can have Excel automatically continue a series of numbers, number and text combinations, dates, or formulas, based on a pattern that you establish.
Select the first cell in the range that you want to fill.
- Type the starting value for the series.
- Type a value in the next cell to establish a pattern. For example, if you want the series 1, 2, 3, 4, 5…, type 1 and 2 in the first two cells. If you want the series 2, 4, 6, 8…, type 2 and 4. If you want the series 2, 2, 2, 2…, you can leave the second cell blank.
- Select the cells that contain the data that you want to fill into adjacent cells.
- Drag the fill handle (the small black square in the lower-right corner of the selection — when you point to the fill handle, the pointer changes to a black cross) across the cells that you want to fill.
You can use the Auto Fill Options button, which appears after you drag the fill handle, to choose how to fill the selection. For example, you can choose Fill Formatting Only or Fill Without Formatting.
Tip
You can automatically fill a formula downward, for all adjacent cells that it applies to, by double-clicking the fill handle of the first cell that contains the formula. For example, you have numbers in cells A1:A15 and B1:B15, and you type the formula =A1+B1 into cell C1. To copy that formula into cells C2:C15, select cell C1 and double-click the fill handle.
Learn to use AutoFill in an Excel Introduction class at Full Circle Computing!
