Applies to
- Pro
- Business
- Enterprise
Create a Series of Numbers or Dates with Drag-Fill
You can quickly fill a range of cells with a series of numbers, dates, or a text string ending in numbers, that’s either sequential or an evenly spaced interval using the drag-fill method.
Drag-fill Basics
Drag-fill will copy a value or formula from one cell into other adjacent cells. When you use drag-fill with a formula, the cell references will adjust automatically to reflect the new placement.
A formula will automatically be filled in to a cell if it's directly above, below, or between two cells that contain the same formula. Learn more about this functionality in Auto-filling Formulas and Formatting article.
Use Drag-fill
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Click on a cell containing a value or formula that you want to copy into adjacent cells.
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Hover the mouse over the lower-right corner of the cell—the insertion point should change to a cross hair.
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Click-and-drag the lower-right corner towards any other adjacent cells.
You’ll see a dotted border around each cell that will be affected when you release the click. -
Release the click to fill all of the bordered cells with the value, or formula, from the initial cell.
To use drag-fill on non-consecutive cells, first apply a filter to the sheet. For more information about using filters, see Using Filters to Show or Hide Sheet Data.
Another quick way to fill content down a column is to use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + D (Windows) or Command + D (Mac).
Use Drag-Fill with Dates
You can use drag-fill with date columns. For example, to create a series of dates, each one week apart, here's what you would do:
- Type your first two dates into adjacent cells to establish a pattern.
- Select both cells...
- Click-and-drag downward from the fill handle at the bottom-right corner of your selected cells.
As you drag downward, the included cells are outlined in a dotted line.
- Release to create the series.