More incrementing in Excel
In a previous post, we showed you how to "be a lazy incrementer in Excel" by clicking and dragging the fill handle.
In addition to incrementing numbers, you can also easily increment dates or repeat a list. Here are some examples:
Dates
In this case, I entered dates for two weeks. When I select those two cells, Excel looks at them, determines the pattern, and when I click and drag the fill handle (that little black box), increments to fill in the rest!
A repeating list
Let's say you have a repeating schedule for taking out the trash...
Sometimes Excel guesses at the pattern but doesn't quite get it right...
In this case, it guessed that Monday, Wednesday, Friday meant that we were incrementing by two days, but really I'd like to keep repeating the three days. To do this, I have two options:
- Hold the Ctrl key down while I click and drag. Excel then repeats the pattern instead of incrementing by two days.
-OR- - Enter Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Monday to make the pattern clear. Then click and drag.
Comments