Forum Discussion
Flash Fill Not Recognizing Pattern for Tens of Thousands of Rows
So I'm trying to consolidate some data into a single excel file and add month and year to columns to show each line's correct month and year. Each month I'm bringing in is tens of thousands of lines, which means using Autofill (dragging data down) hurts my finger after a while. I want to use Flash Fill, but it is not recognizing a pattern. When I click the Flash Fill button, it starts from Jan, even if the previous cells are showing Jun. This is not helpful obviously. Is there any other way to get an autofill/flash fill without it being wrong or damaging the joints of my index finger by dragging the data down?
Flash Fill isn't reliable. Actually you shall to check all records if they are converted correctly. I know many people like it and in many cases it does the job, but I personally prefer to avoid Flash Fill.
To populate the formula it's not necessary to drag cell down. Let assume your formula is in D2 and you'd like to fill with it entire range till D989789. Stay on D2, same address will be visible in name box (top left from sheet area, left from formula bar). Type here D2:D989789, Enter (range will be selected) and Ctrl+D.
4 Replies
Flash Fill isn't reliable. Actually you shall to check all records if they are converted correctly. I know many people like it and in many cases it does the job, but I personally prefer to avoid Flash Fill.
To populate the formula it's not necessary to drag cell down. Let assume your formula is in D2 and you'd like to fill with it entire range till D989789. Stay on D2, same address will be visible in name box (top left from sheet area, left from formula bar). Type here D2:D989789, Enter (range will be selected) and Ctrl+D.
SergeiBaklan Best solution! Thank you!
AlexRadcliff , glad to help
Hi AlexRadcliff
To use flash fill, you might need to enter some sample of output to teach Excel what he should do for you.
You can choose randomly but ensure that the samples provided are representative of output.
Cheers
