Let’s use Autocomplete and Pick From Drop-down List to add text.
AutoComplete
Let’s see AutoComplete in action in this exercise. If you have closed the Chapter 3 workbook from the Figure 3-28. AutoCorrect automatically added the letters nt after you typed sava .
Figure 3-29. Pick from Drop-down List
3. Type the letter C in cell A6. The name Carl appears in the cell because there is no other name that starts with C.
4. Type Da in cell A7. Since there are two names that start with a D in the column,
Excel can’t find a unique one at this point. Type a v after the Da. Only one name starts with Dav so Excel enters David in the cell. Press Enter.
5. Type Mar in cell A8. Since there are two names that start with Mar in the column,
Excel can’t find a unique one at this point. Type a t after the Mar. Only one name starts with Mart so Excel enters Marten in the cell.
Pick from Drop-down List In this exercise, you use the Pick from Drop-down List feature .
1. Right-click in cell A9 and then select Pick from Drop-down List from the menu.
Notice that your entries are displayed in alphabetic order and no duplicates are displayed. See Figure 3-31
2. Click David. Press the Enter key.
3. Press Alt + Down Arrow . Select Marten. Press the Enter key.
4. Click the Save button on the Quick Access Toolbar.
Figure 3-30. Enter names in worksheet
Figure 3-31. Entries are in alphabetic order and there are no duplicate names
The AutoComplete feature and the Pick from Drop List both provide a quick way of creating duplicate data in a column. The AutoComplete feature automatically provides suggestions for you to select from as you type. The Pick from Drop-down List displays all the entries you have made thus far in the current column and then lets you pick one from the list to duplicate. Next, you will look at how the AutoFill feature not only lets you duplicate data but also creates repeated patterns of data.
AutoFill
The AutoFill feature allows you to fill cells automatically with data that follows a pattern or that is based on data in other cells. It can also be used to create duplicate cells, enter a series of values, and create a custom list.
Use AutoFill to Create Duplicate Cells
You can copy values in one cell to additional cells by dragging the AutoFill Handle in the direction that you want. The AutoFill Handle is a small black square at the bottom right corner of the active cell (Figure 3-32 ).
Placing the cursor over the AutoFill Handle turns the cursor into a plus sign (Figure 3-33 ).
A ToolTip is displayed as you drag the AutoFill Handle across other cells indicating the value that will be placed in that cell when you release the mouse button (Figure 3-34 ).
Figure 3-32. AutoFill Handle
Figure 3-33. Cursor becomes a plus sign when moved over AutoFill Handle
Figure 3-35 shows the result of dragging the AutoFill Handle from A1 through D1.
You can drag the AutoFill Handle across as many cells as you like and you can drag it in any direction.
Figure 3-36 shows the result of dragging the AutoFill Handle up.
Using AutoFill to Enter a Series of Values
AutoFill, in addition to being able to duplicate cell values, can also be used to create a series of repeating data lists. Excel has built-in data series related to days, months, years, numbers, and so on. For example, you can enter Monday into a cell then use the Autofill Handle to automatically enter the other days of the week in adjacent cells. As you are dragging the AutoFill Handle, Excel shows you what is going to be placed in that cell when you have finished dragging (see Figure 3-37 ).
Figure 3-36. Result of dragging Autofill Handle up Figure 3-35. Results of dragging AutoFill Handle
It doesn’t matter what day of the week you start with. If you drag across more than seven cells, the days will start repeating. You can also use a three-character abbreviated day.
Dragging across the cells as shown in Figure 3-38 will result in the series shown in Figure 3-39 .
Excel knows that there are four quarters in the year. If you type Quarter 1 then use the AutoFill Handle to create a series, Excel will go from Quarter 1 to Quarter 4, and then it will repeat the pattern starting with Quarter 1. See Figure 3-40 .
You can also use the abbreviation Qtr for Quarter.
If you have a word before a number in a cell, Excel will increase the number by 1 for each cell in the series. See Figure 3-41 .
Teaching Excel to Create an AutoFill Pattern
You can teach Excel a pattern . If you want to display every third number, you can enter a value of 1 in a cell and a 4 in the next cell. You would select both cells and then, using the AutoFill Handle, drag across as many cells as you want to include in the pattern. This would produce a pattern of 1, 4, 7, 10, and so on.
Figure 3-37. As you drag across cells using the AutoFill Handle Excel shows what it will place in that cell
Figure 3-38. Using the AutoFill Handle on a day of the week, it will repeat that day every seven cells
Figure 3-39. Result of dragging AutoFill Handle starting with Fri
Figure 3-40. Series starting with Quarter 1
Figure 3-41. Series starting with Section 2
Using the AutoFill Options Button
When you have finished using the AutoFill Handle to copy a cell or create a series, an Autofill Options button appears to the bottom right of the last selected cell.
Clicking the Autofill Options button brings up three or more options if you used the AutoFill Handle to copy a cell that contains alpha data.
Clicking the Autofill Options button brings up three options when copying alpha data in a horizontal format. The default is Copy Cells. See Figure 3-44 .
Clicking the Autofill Options button brings up four options when copying alpha data in a vertical format. The default is Copy Cells. See Figure 3-45 .
Figure 3-44. Options available from AutoFill Options button
Figure 3-45. AutoFill options when copying data vertically
Clicking the Autofill Options button brings up four or more options if you used the AutoFill Handle to copy numeric data. See Figure 3-46 .
Clicking the Autofill Options button brings up many options if you used the AutoFill Handle to copy Date data. See Figure 3-47 .
Figure 3-46. AutoFill options when copying numeric data
entering the same series of values, then you should create your own data series to speed up your entries. The data series can be created in the Custom Lists dialog box which can be accessed by clicking the Ribbon’s File tab, selecting Options in the left pane, selecting Advanced in the left pane, scrolling the right pane until you see the General section, and then clicking the Edit Custom Lists button. See Figure 3-48 .
You type the new data series in the List entries box. Then click Add to add the data series to the Custom lists box. You can also create a new custom list by selecting the cells on your worksheet and clicking Import in the Custom Lists dialog box.
Figure 3-48. Create your own Custom List in the Custom Lists dialog box