Fill a formula down into adjacent cells

You can quickly copy formulas into adjacent cells by dragging the fill handle . When you fill formulas down, relative references will be put in place to ensure the formulas adjust for each row—unless you include absolute or mixed references before you fill the formula down.

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Follow these steps to fill a formula and choose which options to apply:

1. Select the cell that has the formula you want to fill into adjacent cells.

2. Drag the fill handle across the cells that you want to fill.

   If you don't see the fill handle, it might be hidden. To display it again:

   1. Click File > Options

   2. Click Advanced.

   3. Under Editing Options, check the Enable fill handle and cell drag-and-drop box.

3. To change how you want to fill the selection, click the small Auto Fill Options icon that appears after you finish dragging, and choose the option that want.

For more information about copying formulas, see Copy and paste a formula to another cell or worksheet.

Fill formulas into adjacent cells

You can use the Fill command to fill a formula into an adjacent range of cells. Simply do the following:

1. Select the cell with the formula and the adjacent cells you want to fill.

2. Click Home > Fill, and choose either Down, Right, Up, or Left.
   
   Keyboard shortcut:    You can also press Ctrl+D to fill the formula down in a column, or Ctrl+R to fill the formula to the right in a row.

Turn workbook calculation on

Formulas won't recalculate when you fill cells if automatic workbook calculation isn't enabled.

Here's how you can enable it:

1. Click File > Options.

2. Click Formulas.

3. Under Workbook Calculation, choose Automatic.

1. Select the cell that has the formula you want to fill into adjacent cells.

2. Drag the fill handle down or to the right of the column you want to fill.

Keyboard shortcut: You can also press Ctrl+D to fill the formula down a cell in a column, or Ctrl+R to fill the formula to the right in a row.

Need more help?

You can always ask an expert in the Excel Tech Community, get support in the Answers community, or suggest a new feature or improvement on Excel User Voice.