{"id":211684,"date":"2021-03-26T17:24:49","date_gmt":"2021-03-26T14:24:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/how-to-fill-excel-cells-automatically-with-flash-fill-and-auto-fill\/"},"modified":"2021-03-26T17:24:49","modified_gmt":"2021-03-26T14:24:49","slug":"how-to-fill-excel-cells-automatically-with-flash-fill-and-auto-fill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-fill-excel-cells-automatically-with-flash-fill-and-auto-fill\/","title":{"rendered":"#How to Fill Excel Cells Automatically with Flash Fill and Auto Fill"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a26e9c21f4d3\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a26e9c21f4d3\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-fill-excel-cells-automatically-with-flash-fill-and-auto-fill\/#How_to_Use_Flash_Fill_in_Excel\" >How to Use Flash Fill in Excel<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-fill-excel-cells-automatically-with-flash-fill-and-auto-fill\/#How_to_Use_Auto_Fill_in_Excel\" >How to Use Auto Fill in Excel<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><strong>&#8220;#How to Fill Excel Cells Automatically with Flash Fill and Auto Fill&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-435491 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/stock-lede-microsoft-office_excel-1.png\" alt=\"The official Microsoft Excel logo on a gray background\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>A lot of the tasks you\u2019ll complete in Microsoft Excel are tedious. Luckily, Excel has several features that make this kind of spreadsheet work bearable. We\u2019ll look at two of them: Flash Fill and Auto Fill.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_Use_Flash_Fill_in_Excel\"><\/span>How to Use Flash Fill in Excel<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Flash Fill can automatically detect patterns in data and help you quickly fill cells.<\/p>\n<p>For example, if we start with a list of full names (first and last), but then decide that we should have split them into separate columns, Flash Fill can automate a lot of the work.<\/p>\n<p>To start, let\u2019s assume that we have a list of names. In the column where you want the first names to go, type just the first name from the first cell.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-715993\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/firstname.png\" alt=\"first name only\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/h2>\n<p>Click the \u201cData\u201d tab on the ribbon at the top of the Excel window.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-715990\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/data.png\" alt=\"data tab\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Then, click the \u201cFlash Fill\u201d button in the Data Tools section.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-715994\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/flashfill.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>As you can see, Excel detected the pattern, and Flash Fill filled the rest of our cells in this column with only the first name.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-715992\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/filled.png\" alt=\"filled first names\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>From here, now that Excel knows our pattern, it should show you a preview as you type. Try this: In the next cell over from where you typed in the first name, type in the corresponding last name.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-715996\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/lastname.png\" alt=\"add last name\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>If we click \u201cEnter\u201d on the keyboard, which moves us to the cell below, Excel now shows all of the last names in their proper places.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-715997\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/lastname2.png\" alt=\"auto fill\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Click \u201cEnter\u201d to accept, and Flash Fill will automatically complete the rest of the cells in this column.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-715998\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/lastname3.png\" alt=\"auto fill last name\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_Use_Auto_Fill_in_Excel\"><\/span>How to Use Auto Fill in Excel<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Auto Fill works a little like Flash Fill, although it\u2019s better suited for tasks that involve a lot of cells. It\u2019s also better for cells that have an even more obvious pattern, such as numbers, for example. To see how it works, let\u2019s type in a few numbers.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-715981\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/autofill.png\" alt=\"select cells\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Click and drag to select both cells.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-715982\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/autofill2.png\" alt=\"select cells\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Find the square in the bottom right of the cell and drag it down. You can drag it as far as you\u2019d like.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-715983\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/autofill3.png\" alt=\"find box at lower right\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Excel recognized the pattern and filled all of the cells below that you told it to.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-715984\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/autofill4.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>But this doesn\u2019t just work for numbers. Auto Fill is great for all sorts of patterns, like days and months, for example. Let\u2019s type a few to get started.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-715999\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/month1.png\" alt=\"adding months\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Just like in the previous example, if we click the box at the bottom right and drag it down, Excel will fill all of the cells below using the Auto Fill feature.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-716000\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/month2.png\" alt=\"more months\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Using Flash Fill and Auto Fill are two easy ways to automate your work in Excel, so long as it\u2019s an obvious pattern.<\/p>\n<p>Although Excel sometimes surprises us with its ability to detect more complex patterns, it\u2019s not something that you can count on. Stick to easy stuff for the best, most consistent results.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/715978\/how-to-fill-excel-cells-automatically-with-flash-fill-and-auto-fill\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#How to Fill Excel Cells Automatically with Flash Fill and Auto Fill&#8221; A lot of the tasks you\u2019ll complete in Microsoft Excel are tedious. Luckily, Excel has several features that make this kind of spreadsheet work bearable. We\u2019ll look at two of them: Flash Fill and Auto Fill. How to Use Flash Fill in Excel&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":211685,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/stock-lede-microsoft-office_excel-1.png?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-211684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211684"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211684\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/211685"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}