In this tutorial, you will learn how to fill down in Google Sheets.
How to Fill Down in Google Sheets
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There are many reasons why you might need to copy a cell value down an entire column. For example, you may want to copy a particular formula down an entire column to get the corresponding column value for each row or entry. This feature is known as Autofill in Google Sheets.
You may also use the Autofill feature to create sequential data. For example, you may want to generate a column of months from January to December.
Lastly, we can use the Autofill tool to simply copy the same cell value multiple times in a row.
In this guide, we will show you how to copy a cell value down an entire column in Google Sheets.
How to Copy a Cell Value Down an Entire Column in Google Sheets
Here’s how to copy a cell value down an entire column in Google Sheets.
Step 1
First, we’ll explain how to use the Autofill feature to copy the same value multiple times.
In an empty cell, type the value you want to duplicate across a column.
In this example, we want to copy the value ‘1’ for every cell in the type column.
Step 2
Highlight the cell you want to copy. You’ll see a small blue box in the lower right corner of the cell. Use your cursor to drag the blue box any number of cells down.
If your column is already part of an existing table, you may also double-click on the blue box to perform the AutoFill action. Google Sheets will automatically fill all rows that are part of the current table.
Step 3
Next, we’ll explain how to use the AutoFill tool to create a sequence of values.
First, we’ll need to add values to two adjacent cells. In this example, we’ll fill the first and second cells in a column with ‘1’ and ‘2’.
Select this range with your cursor. You should now be able to see a blue box in the corner.
Step 4
Use your cursor to drag the blue box down until the desired range is filled. Google Sheets will automatically detect that you want to generate values that increment by 1.
This technique also works for any arbitrary two values. For example, if we started with the values ‘10’ and ‘20’, the AutoFill tool will increment each succeeding value by 20.
Step 5
Next, we’ll show you an example of how to use the AutoFill action to copy the same formula down a column.
First, type the formula you want to copy in the first empty cell of the column.
In the example above, we’ll use the GOOGLEFINANCE formula to convert the transaction amount from US Dollars to British Pounds.
Step 6
Use your cursor to drag the blue box down until the desired range is filled. Alternatively, you may double-click on the blue box to fill the column until the last row of the table.
Step 7
If your formula requires you to reference a constant cell, you’ll need to convert it into an absolute reference. This will prevent the cell reference from changing when using the AutoFill feature.
To create an absolute reference, add the ‘$’ symbol before the cell’s column and row number. For example, we can create an absolute reference to cell K1 by writing it as ‘$K$1’.Step 8
Once you’ve set up the absolute reference, you can now use the AutoFill feature to copy the formula down a column.
Summary
This guide should be everything you need to fill down in Google Sheets
You may make a copy of this example spreadsheet to test it out on your own.