How To Autofill Dates In Excel

Do you often find yourself manually entering long strings of dates in Excel? Discover how to use autofill to make your life easier. With just a few clicks, you can quickly generate a series of dates without all the hassle.

Manual AutoFill Method

The Process of Manually Autofilling Dates in Excel

To manually autofill dates in Excel, follow these three easy steps:

1. Select the cell with the starting date and drag the fill handle downwards to the cell you want to end at.
2. Release the mouse button and choose the Auto Fill Options button to select the type of fill.
3. Select the Fill Without Formatting option if you want the cells to be filled without formatting or select the Fill Formatting Only option if you want only the formatting settings to be copied to the remaining cells.

It is important to note that manually autofilling dates can be done for both increasing and decreasing sequences.

One suggestion to consider when manually autofilling dates is to use the fill handle to drag and fill multiple cells quickly. This works by selecting multiple cells with the fill handle and dragging downwards instead of dragging it one cell at a time. This will save time and effort, especially when working with a large amount of data.

Keyboard Shortcut AutoFill Method

Using the ‘Accelerated Keyboard Shortcuts’ method to auto-fill dates in Excel is a quick and efficient way to streamline your work. Here’s how to do it:

1. Start by entering your first date in the desired cell.
2. Next, press and hold the Ctrl key while dragging the small green box in the corner of the selected cell down or across.
3. Release the mouse button and the Ctrl key, and Excel will automatically fill in all the dates following the initial date that you entered.
4. If you want to fill in a specific pattern (such as every other day or weekday only), select the cells you wish to fill and then hold down Ctrl and the Shift key while dragging the green box to fill in the pattern.
5. Finally, if you want to fill in a series of months or years, enter the first month or year and then use the same method as above (Ctrl + dragging the green box) to auto-fill the rest.

It’s important to note that this method can also be used for auto-filling other types of data. Simply enter the first piece of information and then use the same “drag and drop” method to fill in all subsequent cells.

While the standard Excel AutoFill feature can also accomplish this task, the keyboard shortcut method saves time and allows for more flexibility in terms of patterns and desired results. Plus, it’s a handy trick to have in your Excel repertoire.

Did you know that the creator of Excel, Charles Simonyi, also worked on the development of Microsoft Word and was once a software engineer for Xerox PARC? His contributions to the world of software have greatly impacted the way we work today.

Formula AutoFill Method

Formula Autofill Method is an efficient technique to quickly populate cells in Excel spreadsheets with relevant data. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to use this method to speed up your data entry process.

1. Input a date in the first cell of your column.
2. Highlight the cell by left-clicking on it.
3. Hover over the bottom right corner of the cell until a small square appears.
4. Click and drag the square down to the desired number of cells.
5. Release the mouse to automatically fill the highlighted cells with successive dates.
6. Review and adjust the autofilled data as needed.

It’s important to note that Excel can auto-populate not only dates but also text, numbers, and formulas. This feature saves time and reduces manual data entry errors.

Pro Tip: To insert a specific date range, input the starting and ending dates in two cells, highlight the cells, and drag down to autofill the range. This can save you even more time in data entry and analysis.

Using AutoFill Options

Using Excel’s Built-in AutoFill Options

To use Excel’s AutoFill options, follow these simple steps:

1. Fill the initial cell with the starting date.
2. Drag the fill handle located at the bottom right corner of the initial cell and drag it over the range of cells where the date needs to be filled.
3. From the AutoFill options that appear, select the required option.

With the AutoFill options, Excel picks up on the sequence of the initial cell and fills the rest of the cells in the same order.

Quick Tip: You can also fill a date series with weekdays, months, years or time intervals.

Using Excel’s AutoFill Options saves time and simplifies filling date series in Excel. According to a recent study by G2, Excel is the most widely used spreadsheet software worldwide.

FAQs about How To Autofill Dates In Excel

How do I autofill dates in Excel?

To autofill dates in Excel:

1. Select the cell or cells containing the starting date.
2. Place your cursor over the bottom right corner of the selected cells until it turns into a black plus sign.
3. Drag the plus sign down or across to autofill the dates.

Can I autofill weekdays only?

Yes, you can autofill weekdays only in Excel:

1. Enter the starting date.
2. Select the cell containing the starting date.
3. Click Home > Fill > Series.
4. Under Series in the dialog box, choose Weekday.
5. Choose the day of the week that you want to begin the series.
6. Enter the number of weekdays you want to fill, and then click OK.

How do I autofill dates by month in Excel?

To autofill dates by month in Excel:

1. Enter the first date of the month in the starting cell.
2. Select the cell containing the starting date.
3. Place your cursor over the bottom right corner of the selected cell until it turns into a black plus sign.
4. Drag the plus sign down or across to autofill the months.

Can I autofill dates using a custom series in Excel?

Yes, you can autofill dates using a custom series in Excel:

1. Enter the first date of the custom series in the starting cell.
2. Select the cell containing the starting date.
3. Click Home > Fill > Series.
4. Under Series in the dialog box, choose Date.
5. Select the unit of time you want to use for the series (day, week, month, etc.).
6. Enter the step value (the amount of time between each date in the series).
7. Click OK.

How can I autofill dates in a non-standard date format?

To autofill dates in a non-standard date format in Excel:

1. Enter the first date in the non-standard format in the starting cell.
2. Select the cell containing the starting date.
3. Place your cursor over the bottom right corner of the selected cell until it turns into a black plus sign.
4. Right-click and choose Fill Series from the context menu.
5. Choose either Linear or Growth in the Series Type section of the dialog box.
6. Choose the Step Value and Stop Value that you want to use for the series.
7. Click OK.

Can I autofill dates backwards in Excel?

Yes, you can autofill dates backwards in Excel:

1. Enter the last date of the series in the starting cell.
2. Select the cell containing the starting date.
3. Place your cursor over the bottom right corner of the selected cell until it turns into a black plus sign.
4. Drag the plus sign up or to the left to autofill the dates backwards.