How to use the Auto Fill Options button in Excel (291359)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Office Excel 2003
  • Microsoft Excel 2002
This article was previously published under Q291359

SUMMARY

When you fill in data based on adjacent cells by dragging the fill handle, the Auto Fill Options button is displayed just below and to the right of your filled selection. When you click the Auto Fill Options button, a list of options appears that allows you to choose to fill the cells with text or data, and whether or not to include the format of the initial selection or to copy only the format.

Picture of Auto Fill Options list with "Copy Cells" selected.

The Auto Fill Options button is also displayed after you select the AutoFill option in the Series dialog box (point to Fill on the Edit menu, and then click Series). The options that are available depend on the type of content in the cells (text or numbers) and the format of the data. The AutoFill option and others may be found by using the Series command.

MORE INFORMATION

To display the list of Auto Fill options, click the button. The list of options varies according to the type of data: text and formulas, numbers, months, days of the week, and dates. The full list of options that may be available is as follows:

Copy Cells
Fill Series
Fill Formatting Only
Fill Without Formatting
Fill Days
Fill Weekdays
Fill Months
Fill Years

The same eight options are also included on the shortcut menu that appears when you right-click and drag the fill handle to adjacent cells. The Auto Fill Options button is not displayed when you use this method.

For more information about how Excel fills series, click Microsoft Excel Help on the Help menu, type about filling in data that is based on adjacent cells in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topic.

REFERENCES

For additional information about using various types of smart tags, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

291357 How to use the AutoCorrect Options smart tag in Excel

291358 HOW TO: Use the Paste Options buttons in Excel 2002

291361 HOW TO: Use the Error Checking Options smart tag in Excel 2002

291363 XL2002: How to Use the "Insert Options" button in Excel 2002

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:4/16/2004
Keywords:kbgraphxlinkcritical kbhowto kbinfo KB291359
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