Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Using the Fill Handle from the Keyboard.

Using the Fill Handle from the Keyboard

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 11, 2023)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365


1

The fill handle is very helpful for filling cells with various values. Select some cells, click the fill handle, and drag it to fill cells in a variety of ways. If you hate to use the mouse (or at least want to minimize your use of the mouse), you may long for a way to utilize the fill handle by only using the keyboard.

The easiest way to do this is to display the Series dialog box by using these steps:

  1. Use the keyboard to select the cells on which you want the fill based.
  2. Hold down the Alt key as you press, in turn, E, I, S. Excel displays the Series dialog box. (See Figure 1.)
  3. Figure 1. The Series dialog box.

  4. Use the Tab key to move from option to option within the dialog box.
  5. When you've chosen the option you want, press Enter to select it.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (12045) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Using the Fill Handle from the Keyboard.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Using Tags with Document Files

Tags are a way for you to store keywords or metadata with your document files. They can be helpful when you are trying to ...

Discover More

Adding Half Spaces to Punctuation

Want a little more space just before some of your punctuation characters? You can add that spacing in a variety of ways, ...

Discover More

Documents Marked as Security Risk

If your Word documents contain macros, it is possible that Word (or Windows itself) may block the use of those documents ...

Discover More

Best-Selling VBA Tutorial for Beginners Take your Excel knowledge to the next level. With a little background in VBA programming, you can go well beyond basic spreadsheets and functions. Use macros to reduce errors, save time, and integrate with other Microsoft applications. Fully updated for the latest version of Office 365. Check out Microsoft 365 Excel VBA Programming For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Limiting the Number of Characters in a Cell

Need to limit the number of characters that can be entered into a cell? One easy way to do it is through the use of Data ...

Discover More

Closing Up Cut Rows

When you cut and paste rows using Ctrl+X and Ctrl+V, Excel leaves empty the rows where the cut information was previously ...

Discover More

Setting a Default for Shifting when Inserting

When you insert cells into a worksheet, Excel needs to know which direction it should shift the displaced cells. If you ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 9 + 5?

2023-03-11 07:22:20

Alex Blakenburg

While I prefer Alt E I S as being shorter. That is the key sequence based on the Old 2003 and prior menus. Excel will give you more help if you use the new menu path which is Alt H FI S
Using the new menu key sequence, excel will display the next keys to apply along the way.


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.