Auto Fill is a very handy feature in Excel. I believe many users use it every day. A simple example is to fill a list of sequential numbers, say from 1 to 18.
What you need is to input 1 to the starting position of the list, then enter. Next you move your cursor to the Fill Handler (the lower right corner of the cell, until you see a black cross), and then drag down to the desire position and drop.
Click the Smart Tag –> Select Fill Series
There you go. So simple.
The problem is, what if I need a BIG list, say from 1 to 10,000? As a matter of fact, I have witnessed many people doing so by dragging down. It’s so time consuming to drag the cell down even by just 1,000 rows.
Here’s the solution:
On the starting point of your list, say A1, input the staring number you need, say 1. Then follow the ABC steps below:
1) Home tab –> Edit group –> Fill –> Series
2) Select
- Series in: “Columns” if you want to fill down; “Rows” if you want to fill across
- Type: Linear
- Step value: 1
- Stop value: 10000
3) OK
Isn’t it easy?
Next time when you see your colleague tries to create a big list of number by dragging the cells down and up and then up and down, share this simple technique to him. 🙂
wmfexcel 