Our favorite Excel guru, trainer Phil Wiest  PMP®  PMI-ACP® PMI-PBA® Microsoft Office Master®, is back to give you more time-saving tips to do your Excel workbooks and spreadsheets faster and with a lot less stress. Phil is a sought-after trainer on Excel topics because he makes it so simple that even a novice can become proficient very quickly. You can see more about Phil here on his LinkedIn page. 

===============================================================================

Do you need to become the department Excel Power User you’ve always envied?

Did you know that with the simple, clever, and deft usage of one feature, you can drag yourself into the topmost Echelon of Exceldom?

All you need to do is press a button!

To leap frog your career by showing Excel expertise … that’s known to only a few …  grab the Fill Handle, and never let go!

Let’s get at it!

Part 1: There it is!

As you hover your mouse above the square on the lower right corner of a selected cell or range, Excel displays a small (yet powerful!) black cross.

That square is no ordinary square, my friend. It’s the Fill Handle.

If you tug the cross in any direction “things happen.”

For example, if your cell contained “January,” Excel would fill the column or row with a sequence of months. If your cell contained “Monday,” Excel would fill the column or row with a sequence of days of the week.

Part 2: But Wait, There’s More

As you become more skilled and the Fill Handle begins to “tug” on your heartstrings, you discover more subtle variations.

For example, if you put a date in a cell and tug on the Fill Handle, Excel will generate a series of dates.

Part 3: The Smart Tag

By now you might have noticed the “elusive” Smart Tag appearing after you’ve tugged the Fill Handle. The Smart Tag is like an adverb that modifies the action of the Fill Handle. If you click the Smart Tag, Excel displays a contextual list of alternative results.

For example,

• Did you want to copy the Date? (Copy Cells)
• Did you want to skip weekends? (Fill Weekdays)
• Did you want the same date every year? (Fill Years)

The Smart Tag modifies the results of the Fill Handle.

Part 4: The Seed

Once you’ve mastered the “tug,” and the Smart Tag, you’re ready for The Seed.

In Excel, the cells you select before you tug the Fill Handle influence the results. Do you need a series of numbers: 1, 2, 3, etc.?

If you had started by highlighting two cells (The Seed) before tugging on the Fill Handle, Excel follows the pattern of The Seed and will deliver a number series that follows the original Seed’s pattern. (1,2,3… etc.)

You can experiment with other “Seeds”

• Try 0 and 5
• Try 1:00 and 1:15

Part 5: Razzle Dazzle Real World Example: Pay Day!

Let’s say you get paid on the 1^st and the 15^th of the month – every month. You can “Seed” this into two cells and Smart Tag your way to results!

After you’ve tugged the Fill Handle, you’ll see a series of dates 14 days apart (Not what you needed!) But, when you Smart Tag the results to “Fill Months,” the results will be the First and Fifteen of every month!

 

 

Part 6: Automagic Fun and Games with The Fill Handle

Did you know that double-clicking the Fill Handle has “automagic” results?

When you double-click the Fill Handle, Excel will automagically extend the series down the distance of an adjacent column.

Part 7: Razzle Dazzle Real Example: What Day Is this?

Let’s say you need to know the day of the year in addition to the date.

Type “1st” into a cell beside a column of days of the year. Then, double-click the fill handle.

The Results:

Learning the ins and outs, ups and downs, of the Fill Handle, the Smart Tag, and Seeds will leap frog your skills . Afterall, 2020 is leap year!

…and  Fill is just one of the many “secrets” to mastering Microsoft Excel and  putting you on the road to Power User.