Using AutoFill with a gap in the data
On an otherwise empty worksheet, you have the following range (not an Excel Table) in column A, where there is a gap in row 5. You want to auto-fill a sequence of numbers starting from 1 in cell B2. You enter 1 in cell B2 and 2 in cell B3. You then select both cells and double-click the fill handle to auto-fill down the column.
Inspect the gap in column A of Table 1 before predicting how far AutoFill will continue.
| A | B | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Data | Sequence |
| 2 | Alice Johnson | 1 |
| 3 | Bob Smith | 2 |
| 4 | Charlie Rogers | |
| 5 | ||
| 6 | Diana Stone |
AutoFill fills cells with a series based on the pattern in the selected cells.
When you point to the fill handle (a small square at the bottom-right corner of a cell), the cursor changes to a black cross. Double-clicking the fill handle will auto-fill the cells based on the pattern detected.
What values will be filled in cells B4 to B6 when you double-click the fill handle?
- 1, 1, 1
- 3, 4, 5
- 1, 2, 1
- 3, blank, blank