Auto increment in Excel 1

[DeGeus]

Can anybody explain what are the rules for Excel to apply aut increment. Somtimes when I enter a number into a cell and I pull the cell down the number increments and sometimes not.
When I enter to numbers in two cells beneath each other and I select them both and then pulls the right lower corner down it always increments

What are the rules for this

Leendert de Geus

http://WWW.CEC-CES.nl

 

[TonyJollans]

Hi DeGeus,

Normally a single number 'pulled down' should not increment. Can you give an example of a case when it does (including what cell its in and what is above it and whether or not any non-default formatting is applied)

Enjoy,
Tony

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[DeGeus]

When I enter f.e. X1 in a cell an dI pull this down it will increment to X2, X3 etc. A single number 1 doesn't.
There is no formating applied

Thanks for the quik reaction

Leendert de Geus

http://WWW.CEC-CES.nl

 

[TonyJollans]

Hi Leendert,

I'm sorry, I don't know the precise rules. What I thought should happen was that custom lists would be used, otherwise incrementing from single values would only happen with dates and times. However, it seems that any string ending in a numeric character will increment (including, for example, the number 1 entered as text).

Enjoy,
Tony

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[xlbo]

Don't know why it works with alphanumerics but here is how it is supposed to work....directly from xl help:

Select the first cell in the range you want to fill.
Enter the starting value for the series.
Enter a value in the next cell to establish a pattern.
Select the cell or cells that contain the starting values.
Drag the fill handle over the range you want to fill.
To fill in increasing order, drag down or to the right.
To fill in decreasing order, drag up or to the left.

Rgds, Geoff

"Having been erased. the document thjat you are seeking. Must now be retyped"

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[mscallisto]

Try Holding the Ctrl key while dragging.

 

[AnotherHiggins]

mscallisto,

I didn't know about that! And I'm always looking for a shortcut. Have a star on me.

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[TonyJollans]

For the uninitiated, there are two possible results from (left) clicking and dragging the Fill Handle - Copy Down and Fill Series (and there are some additional options available from right clicking and dragging). The question is about the rules for which of the two actions happens when. Holding the Ctrl key makes the non-default of the two happen - whilst a useful thing to know, it doesn't answer the question.

Filling series is designed to work with numbers and lists - not with random alphameric data and although I can see what it does (and possibly change its action with Ctrl) I have no idea why, so I shall keep an eye on the thread.

Enjoy,
Tony

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[xlbo]

Tony - as per my post - the default action is that you should enter a 2nd value before the pattern can be matched

All I can suggest for alpha numerics is that it is to do with versioning

The reason for this is that it doesn't auto incrment for every type of A.N. - it will only auto increment for Number / Alpha if there is a seperation of at least 1 space between the number and alpha whereas it will auto increment for any combination if the number is the last part of the A.N. string - this suggests (to me at least) that it is looking for either

1. Text string here

or

Text String here v1.2

both of which are obvious candidates for extension.....

Rgds, Geoff

"Having been erased. the document thjat you are seeking. Must now be retyped"

Please read FAQ222-2244 before you ask a question

 

[TonyJollans]

Hi Geoff,

I know you've got a later version, but in 2K only numbers at the end of an a/n string increment under all but a few exceptional circumstances ("1st") that I can see.

I've just re-read the Help and it *is* there - see "About filling in data based on adjacent cells" - but mostly as statement rather than explanation.

Enjoy,
Tony

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[xlbo]

Hmmm - not clear is it - it must be to do with pattern recognition then - looks like xl recognises certain single cells as the start of a pattern (times and dates are another set which work like this) AlphaNumber just happens to be one of these....

Rgds, Geoff

"Having been erased. the document thjat you are seeking. Must now be retyped"

Please read FAQ222-2244 before you ask a question