How To Fill Series In Google Sheets

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If you regularly use Google Sheets for data entry and manipulation, you might often find the need to fill cells with a series of data. It could be numbers in sequence, range of dates or even days of the week. Google Sheets provides a simple way of doing this with the fill handle and Series function. In this post, we’ll guide you through the process of filling a series in Google Sheets.

Using Fill Handle

Google Sheets’ fill handle tool is a quick and easy way to copy or fill data into adjacent cells. It’s especially useful when you need to extend a series of numbers, dates or even text to a desired number of cells.

Let’s take an example where we want to fill a column with a series of numbers from 1 to 10.

  1. First, type the number 1 into a cell.
  2. After you press enter, you will see a small blue square at the bottom-right corner of the cell. This is the fill handle.
  3. Click and drag the fill handle down the column to the desired cell where you want the series to end. As you drag, you’ll see numbers changing in sequence.
  4. Release the mouse button. Now, your cells are filled with numbers from 1 to 10.

Remember, this method also works for days of the week, months, and dates. For instance, if you want to fill a series of dates, just enter the start date, and use the fill handle to drag to the desired end date.

Using the Series Function

If you need more control over the series, for instance, you want to create a series with a specific increment, you can use the SERIES function.

Let’s create a series of numbers from 5 to 50 with an increment of 5. 

    =ARRAYFORMULA(SERIES(5, 50, 5))

In the code above, the first number is the start of the series, the second number is the end, and the third number is the increment.

You can also use the SERIES function to create a range of dates with a specific increment.

Google Sheets provides numerous ways to manipulate and handle data, making it an invaluable tool for anyone handling data. The fill handle and SERIES function are just two ways you can automate and simplify data entry. Happy sheeting!