The fill handle is the small square at the bottom-right corner of the selected cell or range in Excel. Point at it until the pointer turns into a thin black plus sign (+), then drag down or across to copy a formula or value into the cells next to it, or to continue a pattern such as 1, 2, 3 or Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. To copy a formula down a long column without dragging, double-click the fill handle instead. When you let go, the Auto Fill Options button appears so you can switch between copying and counting.
Applies to: Excel for Microsoft 365 on Windows 11 and Windows 10, Excel 2024, 2021, 2019 and 2016, and Excel for Microsoft 365 for Mac. Excel for the web has the same handle for basic dragging, but the settings mentioned below live in the desktop apps. Microsoft’s own walkthrough is Fill a formula down into adjacent cells.
What the fill handle does
A few terms make the rest of this guide easier to follow:
- Fill handle: the square on the corner of the green selection border. If you select several cells, there is still only one handle, at the bottom-right of the whole selection.
- Copying: every filled cell gets the same value, such as “Pending” or 25.
- A series: Excel continues a pattern it recognizes, such as 1, 2, 3, every other date, or Qtr 1, Qtr 2.
- Relative references: when you fill a formula, the cell addresses inside it shift by one row or column for each cell, so every row calculates its own numbers.
As you drag, a small tip next to the pointer previews the value that will land in the last cell. That preview is the quickest way to tell whether Excel is about to copy or count before you let go.
Copy a formula down a column or across a row
This is the most common job for the fill handle. In this example, column A lists salespeople (Alex, Jordan, Priya and so on), column B has units sold and column C has the unit price.
- Click D2 and type
=B2*C2, then press Enter. D2 shows Alex’s total. If you’re new to formulas like this one, start with how to build a multiplication formula in Excel. - Click D2 again so it’s selected. Move the pointer to the small square at the bottom-right corner of the cell. The fat white cross changes to a thin black plus sign.
- Drag down to the last row of your data and release the mouse button. To fill to the right instead, drag across a row.
- Or, rather than dragging, double-click the handle. Excel fills down as far as the column next to it has data, which saves scrolling through hundreds of rows.
- Click any filled cell, such as D5, and look at the formula bar. It should read
=B5*C5, which confirms the references moved with each row.
If one part of the formula must point at the same cell in every row, such as a tax rate in F1, lock it with dollar signs: =B2*C2*$F$1. Pressing F4 while the cursor is in a reference adds the dollar signs for you. The full explanation is in our guide to keeping one cell constant in Excel, and the same fill-down move works for simple formulas like subtracting one cell from another. Mixed references such as $A2 and A$2, which lock only the column or only the row, are explained in how to use absolute cell reference in Excel. For example, after you write =B2*$E$1 to apply a percentage to a price in Excel, double-clicking the fill handle copies it down the whole list.
Double-clicking only fills downward, and it needs a neighboring column with data to measure against. It stops at the first blank cell in that column, so on long lists, scroll to the bottom and check that the last row was filled. For a practical case, enter =A2*60 next to a column of minutes and double-click the handle to turn the whole column into seconds.
Fill a series of numbers, dates or text
Excel decides between copying and counting based on what you select before you drag.
- Type the first value of the pattern, such as 1 in A2. For anything other than counting by one day or one item, type the second value too, such as 2 in A3. The same two-value trick works for times, too: type 9:00 AM and 9:15 AM, then drag to build a schedule in 15-minute steps.
- Select all the starting cells (A2:A3 here). Selecting only one of them gives Excel nothing to measure the step from.
- Drag the fill handle down or to the right. Watch the preview tip to see where the series will end.
- Release. Dragging down or right counts up; dragging up or left counts down.
| Type and select | Drag to get |
|---|---|
| 1 and 2 | 3, 4, 5… |
| 2 and 4 | 6, 8, 10… |
| 100 and 95 | 90, 85, 80… |
| 1 (alone) | 1, 1, 1… (a copy) |
| Monday or Mon | Tuesday, Wednesday… (restarts after Sunday) |
| January or Jan | February, March… or Feb, Mar… |
| Qtr 1 | Qtr 2, Qtr 3, Qtr 4, Qtr 1… |
| Item 1 | Item 2, Item 3… |
| 10/1/2026 | 10/2/2026, 10/3/2026… |
| 10/1/2026 and 10/8/2026 | 10/15/2026, 10/22/2026… (weekly) |
Notice the two defaults that trip people up: a single number copies, but a single date counts up by a day. In Excel for Windows, holding Ctrl while you drag flips that behavior, so a lone 1 counts and a lone date repeats. If you’d rather not remember that, drag normally and fix the result with Auto Fill Options (next section). Numbering rows has its own guide on how to number a column in Excel, and if you need one date repeated, see how to copy the same date in Excel.
Change the result with Auto Fill Options
After any drag, a small button appears at the bottom-right of the filled range. Click it and choose how the cells should be filled. The list changes depending on what you filled:
- Copy Cells: repeat the starting value or pattern exactly.
- Fill Series: continue the pattern instead of repeating it.
- Fill Formatting Only: copy only the look (fill color, borders, number format), not the contents.
- Fill Without Formatting: copy the values or formulas but keep the formatting already in the destination cells. Use this when dragging would wreck alternating row colors.
- Fill Days, Fill Weekdays, Fill Months, Fill Years: appear for dates. Fill Weekdays skips Saturdays and Sundays. Fill Months and Fill Years keep the same day number and change only the month or year.
- Flash Fill: appears when Excel can copy a pattern from the columns beside it, such as pulling first names out of a full-name column.
The button stays until you type or edit something else, so you can try one option, look, and pick another.
Get more control with right-drag and the Series dialog
For steps Excel can’t guess, or to stop at an exact number, use one of these two routes. In Excel for Microsoft 365, Excel 2024 and Excel 2021, the SEQUENCE function is another way to fill a range with a series of numbers without dragging at all.
Right-drag the fill handle
- Select your starting cells.
- Hold down the right mouse button on the fill handle and drag.
- Release. A shortcut menu appears with the Auto Fill choices plus Linear Trend, Growth Trend and Series.
Growth Trend multiplies instead of adds. Starting from 1 and 2, it fills 4, 8, 16. This is handy for doubling schedules and compound growth projections.
Use the Series dialog
- Type the first value, then select it and the empty cells you want to fill.
- Go to Home > Fill (in the Editing group) > Series.
- Choose Columns or Rows, pick Linear, Growth or Date, and enter a Step value such as 0.5 or 15.
- Optionally enter a Stop value so the series ends at a specific number, then select OK.
The Series dialog overwrites the selected cells, so copy any values you want to keep first. Microsoft explains the Linear, Growth and Trend options in Project values in a series. For weekly or monthly dates, the Date type with a step of 7 days or 1 month works well, and our article on how to add 7 days to a date in Excel covers the formula approach.
Teach Excel your own fill list
If you type the same sequence often, such as North, South, East, West or a list of departments, save it as a custom list. After that, typing any item and dragging fills the rest in order and starts over at the end.
On Windows:
- Go to File > Options > Advanced. Scroll to General and select Edit Custom Lists.
- With NEW LIST selected, type the items in the List entries box, pressing Enter after each one.
- Select Add, then OK twice.
If the items are already on a sheet, select them before opening the dialog and use Import instead of typing.
On a Mac: open the Excel menu > Preferences (shown as Settings on newer macOS versions), select Custom Lists under Formulas and Lists, select Add, type the items separated by commas, and select Add again.
Custom lists can hold text or text mixed with numbers. The built-in day and month lists can’t be edited or deleted. A list you create is stored on that computer, so it won’t be available for filling on another PC. The details are on Microsoft’s page about creating or deleting a custom list.
Fill without the mouse
These do the same jobs from the keyboard or ribbon, which helps on a trackpad or with very long ranges:
- Ctrl + D (fill down): select the cell with the value or formula plus the empty cells below it, then press Ctrl + D. Select the whole range quickly with Shift + Down Arrow.
- Ctrl + R (fill right): the same, across a row.
- Home > Fill > Down, Right, Up or Left: the ribbon version of those shortcuts.
- Ctrl + Enter: select a range, type one entry, and press Ctrl + Enter to put it in every selected cell. On a Mac, press Control + Return.
- Ctrl + E: runs Flash Fill on the current column, also found at Data > Flash Fill.
Ctrl + D and Ctrl + R copy only; they never continue a series. Use the fill handle or the Series dialog for counting. Excel for Mac uses Ctrl + D and Ctrl + R as well, per Microsoft’s page on dragging the fill handle in Excel for Mac.
When the fill handle doesn’t behave
There’s no square on the corner of the cell
The handle may be turned off. On Windows, go to File > Options > Advanced and, under Editing options, select Enable fill handle and cell drag-and-drop. On a Mac, go to Excel > Preferences > Edit and select Allow fill handle and cell dragging and dropping. Microsoft’s Display or hide the fill handle page has the Windows steps. The handle also won’t appear when you’ve selected several separate ranges with Ctrl, and you can’t fill locked cells on a protected sheet until you select Review > Unprotect Sheet.
It copies when you wanted it to count
You probably started from one number. Type the first two values and select both before dragging, or choose Fill Series from Auto Fill Options.
It counts when you wanted a copy
Dates, weekday names and text ending in a number (Item 1) count by default. Choose Copy Cells from Auto Fill Options, or use Ctrl + D.
Every row shows the same answer
If the formulas changed correctly in the formula bar but the results didn’t, workbook calculation is set to Manual. Select Formulas > Calculation Options > Automatic, or press F9 to recalculate once. If the formula bar shows the same cell address in every row, the reference has dollar signs that need removing.
Double-clicking stops early or does nothing
Excel looks at the adjacent column to decide where to stop. A blank cell in that column ends the fill early, and a column with no neighboring data won’t fill at all. Fill the gap, or select the range and press Ctrl + D.
Cells cleared instead of filling
Dragging the handle back up or left into your own selection erases those cells. Press Ctrl + Z right away to get the contents back.
A warning asks to replace existing data
That’s the Alert before overwriting cells option doing its job. Select Cancel if you didn’t mean to drag over that data. Leave the option turned on; it’s the only warning you get before a drag replaces filled cells.
Check the result and undo a fill
Click the first, a middle and the last filled cell and read each one in the formula bar. The references should move one row (or column) at a time, and locked references should stay the same. For a series, make sure the last value is the one you expected.
If anything looks wrong, press Ctrl + Z (Command + Z on a Mac) to undo the whole fill in one step, then try again with a different selection or Auto Fill option.
Frequently asked questions
Can I fill a formula down thousands of rows without dragging?
Yes. If the column next to it is full, double-click the fill handle. If not, click the Name Box left of the formula bar, type a range such as D2:D5000, press Enter, and then press Ctrl + D. The formula in D2 is copied to every selected row.
Why does my formula fill by itself in some sheets?
Your data is probably formatted as an Excel table (Insert > Table). Tables create calculated columns: type a formula in one cell of an empty table column and Excel copies it to the whole column, then extends it to new rows you add at the bottom. You don’t need the fill handle there at all.
Does the fill handle copy formatting?
Yes, it copies fill colors, borders, number formats and conditional formatting along with the contents. Choose Fill Without Formatting from Auto Fill Options to keep the destination’s look, or Fill Formatting Only to copy just the look.
Why don’t my numbers update when I insert or sort rows?
Filled numbers are typed values, not formulas, so they stay put when rows move. For numbering that keeps up with changes, use =ROW()-1 in the first data row and fill it down. To split text into new columns, Flash Fill is often faster; see how to split columns in Excel.
Can I fill several columns at once?
Yes. Select the starting cells across all the columns (for example A2:C3) and drag the handle down. Each column continues its own pattern. You can drag down or across in one move, but not both at the same time.
Next, try the fill handle on a real sheet: type a formula in the first row of a list and double-click the corner to fill it down. Then check the last row to make sure it filled all the way.
Matt Jacobs has been working as an IT consultant for small businesses since receiving his Master’s degree in 2003. While he still does some consulting work, his primary focus now is on creating technology support content for SupportYourTech.com.
His work can be found on many websites and focuses on topics such as Microsoft Office, Apple devices, Android devices, Photoshop, and more.