How to Fill a Series in Google Sheets

Filling a Series of Numbers in Google Sheets

Filling consecutive numbers in Google Sheets is a common task when creating lists, managing inventory, or categorizing values. Don’t waste time entering them manually when Google Sheets can automate the process for you.

In your first cell, enter your first number. Let’s start with a simple count from 1 to 10, so enter “1” in cell A1.

In the next cell, write the next number in the sequence. Since we’re using a simple sequence, enter “2” in cell A2.

Select the two previous cells. You should see a dark square appear in the bottom right corner of your selection.

Drag the fill handle down until you reach the desired number of rows. For example, drag down to row 10 to get 10 new rows. Your cursor should turn into a “+” sign.

Voila! You have automatically filled a series of numbers in Google Sheets.

Pro Tip: Google Sheets can detect the pattern of your values, allowing you to fill a series with different increments. Let’s say you want to add increments of two. Simply put “3” in the next cell, as 1 + 2 = 3. Google Sheets will automatically detect the pattern and add an increment of 2 to all the following cells.

Filling a Series of Dates in Google Sheets

Enter your first day in the first cell. For example, let’s put the first date of the current year in cell A1.

Select the cell, and a blue box will appear on the bottom right side.

Drag the blue box until you reach the desired number of cells. For our example, let’s fill in the first 14 days of the month by dragging from cell A1 to A14.

Notice how the days are automatically filled in order. You can continue dragging the blue box to add more days.

Filling a Series of Months in Google Sheets

Just like filling a series of dates, we’ll use Google Sheets’ drag-and-drop feature to fill a series of months. Follow this guide:

In your first cell, type the first month you want to list. For example, let’s start with August in cell A1.

Select the cell and drag the blue box in the bottom right corner down.

Keep dragging until you have the desired number of months.

After December, Google Sheets will automatically loop back to January. You can use this for personal calendars or goal tracking.

Filling a Series of Letters in Google Sheets

Filling a series of letters is a bit more complex than other series, but once you learn this technique, it will come in handy for assigning letter codes or categorizing. Simply follow these steps:

In the first cell, type the first letter of your series. Let’s put “A” in the first cell.

In the next cell, use the following formula: =CHAR(CODE(Previous Cell)+1).

For example, we’ll use =CHAR(CODE(A1)+1) to get the next letter, which is “B”. Here’s a quick explanation of our formula:

The CODE function converts your letter into an equivalent number.
By adding 1 to the code, we get the next number in the series.
The CHAR function converts the new number back into its corresponding letter, giving us the next letter in the series. This is the pattern we want Google Sheets to detect.

Select the second cell and drag it down until you reach your preferred series of letters. For example, dragging it to row 10 will give you letters A to J. Now you can use this method instead of manually typing letters in your workbook.

We hope this article has provided you with valuable insights on how to fill a series in Google Sheets. For more productivity tips, management advice, and Google tools, visit Crawlan.com.

And remember, automating your workflow is key to maximizing efficiency. Check out our guide on how to set up automatic email reminders in Gmail and explore our software to help you stay on top of tax deadlines.

Happy series filling, besties!