The AutoFill Handle

If you have to fill in a series of items, such as consecutive months, quarter, or even dates, the computer can fill these in for you with the AutoFill Handle. The AutoFill Handle is a small notch in the lower-right corner of the active cell. (Your pointer will turn into a thin, black plus sign when you're on it) When you click-and-drag the AutoFill handle, the computer will complete the series for you. If you highlight two cells, such as cells with a constant pattern of increase or decrease, the computer can then detect the pattern and AutoFill the remaining cells for you.

becomes

It should be noted that, if you right-drag the mouse when auto-filling, you get a shortcut menu of options on how to AutoFill the selection. <Click here> for a video demonstration. (56K)