Excel's AutoFill feature relies on the program's ability to recognize patterns in the data that you enter. For example, if you type "Week 1" in a cell, you can have the program automatically fill in "Week 2", "Week 3", etc. by using the AutoFill handle. This is located in the bottom right of the cell. As the cursor moves over it, the cursor changes appearance to a plus sign (+). When it does so you simply click, hold, drag in any direction and Excel will pick up the pattern and extrapolate it to create automatic data entries.
Whenever you use the AutoFill handle Excel displays the AutoFill Options drop down menu just below the last cell which has been automatically generated. If the program has not entered the correct data, you can choose one of the entries in the AutoFill Options to tell it what you actually meant it to do. For example, if you choose Copy Cells, you simply get an exact copy of what was in the original cell.
Excel is also capable of automatically entering an arbitrary series of data using a feature called Custom Lists. There are certain lists built into Excel, for example, the months of the year. To use the AutoFill feature, you need to enter the first value in the list, for example, "January" or "Jan". Next, you drag the AutoFill handle (located in the bottom right of the cell) in any direction to have Excel automatically enter the rest of the custom list.
In addition to these built-in lists Excel allows you to create your own custom lists. For example, suppose we worked for a company that has branches in several towns. It's almost certain that we would list these towns quite frequently in our spreadsheets. We could therefore save ourselves considerable time by setting this up as a custom list.
To do this, simply select cells in one of your worksheets that contain the information. Next, click on the Office button and choose Excel options. Click on "Edit Custom Lists" in the "Popular" category. Excel displays the contents of the cells that we highlighted. To convert the selected data into a custom list, we simply click on the "Import" button.
Once you've created a custom list, it can be used in any of your worksheets, not just the sheet that contained the original information. To generate the entries in the list, simply type the first value. Next, drag the AutoFill handle to conjure up the remaining entries. When using this facility, we can drag in any direction and we don't have to start with the first member of the custom list.
Custom lists can also be entered directly in the "Custom Lists" dialog box. To do this, click on the "List Entries" button and type the list separating entries with a carriage return. After entering the list, click on the Add button to make it permanent.
To delete an unwanted custom list, just click on it and press the "Delete" button. Excel checks that you want to delete the list and when you click "OK", the custom list is removed.
Whenever you use the AutoFill handle Excel displays the AutoFill Options drop down menu just below the last cell which has been automatically generated. If the program has not entered the correct data, you can choose one of the entries in the AutoFill Options to tell it what you actually meant it to do. For example, if you choose Copy Cells, you simply get an exact copy of what was in the original cell.
Excel is also capable of automatically entering an arbitrary series of data using a feature called Custom Lists. There are certain lists built into Excel, for example, the months of the year. To use the AutoFill feature, you need to enter the first value in the list, for example, "January" or "Jan". Next, you drag the AutoFill handle (located in the bottom right of the cell) in any direction to have Excel automatically enter the rest of the custom list.
In addition to these built-in lists Excel allows you to create your own custom lists. For example, suppose we worked for a company that has branches in several towns. It's almost certain that we would list these towns quite frequently in our spreadsheets. We could therefore save ourselves considerable time by setting this up as a custom list.
To do this, simply select cells in one of your worksheets that contain the information. Next, click on the Office button and choose Excel options. Click on "Edit Custom Lists" in the "Popular" category. Excel displays the contents of the cells that we highlighted. To convert the selected data into a custom list, we simply click on the "Import" button.
Once you've created a custom list, it can be used in any of your worksheets, not just the sheet that contained the original information. To generate the entries in the list, simply type the first value. Next, drag the AutoFill handle to conjure up the remaining entries. When using this facility, we can drag in any direction and we don't have to start with the first member of the custom list.
Custom lists can also be entered directly in the "Custom Lists" dialog box. To do this, click on the "List Entries" button and type the list separating entries with a carriage return. After entering the list, click on the Add button to make it permanent.
To delete an unwanted custom list, just click on it and press the "Delete" button. Excel checks that you want to delete the list and when you click "OK", the custom list is removed.
About the Author:
The writer of this article is a developer and trainer with OnSiteTrainingCourses.Com, a UK IT training company offering Microsoft Excel training courses at their central London training centre.
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