Fill in a series of numbers, dates, or other built-in series items
Using the fill handle (fill handle: The small black square in the lower-right corner of the selection. When you point to the fill handle, the pointer changes to a black cross.), you can quickly fill cells in a range with a series of numbers or dates, or with a built-in series for days, weekdays, months, or years.
Select the first cell in the range that you want to fill.
Type the starting value for the series.
Type a value in the next cell to establish a pattern.
For example, if you want the series 1, 2, 3, 4, 5..., type 1 and 2 in the first two cells. If you want the series 2, 4, 6, 8..., type 2 and 4. If you want the series 2, 2, 2, 2..., you can leave the second cell blank.
More examples of series that you can fill
When you fill a series, the selections are extended as shown in the following table. In this table, items that are separated by commas are contained in individual adjacent cells on the worksheet.
Initial selection Extended series
1, 2, 3 4, 5, 6,...
9:00 10:00, 11:00, 12:00,...
Mon Tue, Wed, Thu,...
Monday Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,...
Jan Feb, Mar, Apr,...
Jan, Apr Jul, Oct, Jan,...
Jan-07, Apr-07 Jul-07, Oct-07, Jan-08,...
15-Jan, 15-Apr 15-Jul, 15-Oct,...
2007, 2008 2009, 2010, 2011,...
1-Jan, 1-Mar 1-May, 1-Jul, 1-Sep,...
Qtr3 (or Q3 or Quarter3) Qtr4, Qtr1, Qtr2,...
text1, textA text2, textA, text3, textA,...
1st Period 2nd Period, 3rd Period,...
Product 1 Product 2, Product 3,...
Select the cell or cells that contain the starting values.
Drag the fill handle across the range that you want to fill.
To fill in increasing order, drag down or to the right. To fill in decreasing order, drag up or to the left. See Microsoft Excel help