How To Select Data In Excel For Mac

The Fill Handle in Excel allows you to automatically fill in a list of data (numbers or text) in a row or column simply by dragging the handle. This can save you a lot of time when entering sequential data in large worksheets and make you more productive. Instead of manually entering numbers, times, or even days of the week over and over again, you can use the AutoFill features (the fill handle or the Fill command on the ribbon) to fill cells if your data follows a pattern or is based on data in other cells. We’ll show you how to fill various types of series of data using the AutoFill features. Fill a Linear Series into Adjacent Cells One way to use the fill handle is to enter a series of linear data into a row or column of adjacent cells. A linear series consists of numbers where the next number is obtained by adding a “step value” to the number before it.

Select the data you wish to add. To select multiple consecutive values, simply hold down the 'SHIFT' key and click the first value followed by the last value in the list; holding down the 'SHIFT' key will tell Excel that you wish to select those two values and all values between them. What is the keyboard shortcut if I want to jump to the last row in Calc? What is the keyboard shortcut to add in MS Excel? Is there a universal keyboard shortcut to jump to the search box in any website?

The simplest example of a linear series is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. However, a linear series can also be a series of decimal numbers (1.5, 2.5, 3.5), decreasing numbers by two (100, 98, 96), or even negative numbers (-1, -2, -3). In each linear series, you add (or subtract) the same step value.

Let’s say we want to create a column of sequential numbers, increasing by one in each cell. You can type the first number, press Enter to get to the next row in that column, and enter the next number, and so on.

Very tedious and time consuming, especially for large amounts of data. We’ll save ourselves some time (and boredom) by using the fill handle to populate the column with the linear series of numbers. To do this, type a 1 in the first cell in the column and then select that cell. Notice the green square in the lower-right corner of the selected cell?

That’s the fill handle. When you move your mouse over the fill handle, it turns into a black plus sign, as shown below. With the black plus sign over the fill handle, click and drag the handle down the column (or right across the row) until you reach the number of cells you want to fill. When you release the mouse button, you’ll notice that the value has been copied into the cells over which you dragged the fill handle. How do i unsync dropbox from my mac. Why didn’t it fill the linear series (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 in our example)? By default, when you enter one number and then use the fill handle, that number is copied to the adjacent cells, not incremented. NOTE: To quickly copy the contents of a cell above the currently selected cell, press Ctrl+D, or to copy the contents of a cell to the left of a selected cell, press Ctrl+R.

Be warned that copying data from an adjacent cell replaces any data that is currently in the selected cell. Free download photoshop 7 for mac. To replace the copies with the linear series, click the “Auto Fill Options” button that displays when you’re done dragging the fill handle. The first option, Copy Cells, is the default. That’s why we ended up with five 1s and not the linear series of 1–5. To fill the linear series, we select “Fill Series” from the popup menu. The other four 1s are replaced with 2–5 and our linear series is filled. You can, however, do this without having to select Fill Series from the Auto Fill Options menu.

Instead of entering just one number, enter the first two numbers in the first two cells. Then, select those two cells and drag the fill handle until you’ve selected all the cells you want to fill. Because you’ve given it two pieces of data, it will know the step value you want to use, and fill the remaining cells accordingly. You can also click and drag the fill handle with the right mouse button instead of the left. You still have to select “Fill Series” from a popup menu, but that menu automatically displays when you stop dragging and release the right mouse button, so this can be a handy shortcut. Fill a Linear Series into Adjacent Cells Using the Fill Command If you’re having trouble using the fill handle, or you just prefer using commands on the ribbon, you can use the Fill command on the Home tab to fill a series into adjacent cells. The Fill command is also useful if you’re filling a large number of cells, as you’ll see in a bit.