<HTML
><HEAD
><TITLE
>Autofill</TITLE
><META
NAME="GENERATOR"
CONTENT="Modular DocBook HTML Stylesheet Version 1.54"><LINK
REL="HOME"
TITLE="Gnumeric's user manual"
HREF="gnumeric.html"><LINK
REL="UP"
TITLE="Entering data."
HREF="editing.html"><LINK
REL="PREVIOUS"
TITLE="Editing cells using the selection"
HREF="editing-selections.html"><LINK
REL="NEXT"
TITLE="Style."
HREF="style.html"></HEAD
><BODY
CLASS="SECT1"
><DIV
CLASS="NAVHEADER"
><TABLE
WIDTH="100%"
BORDER="0"
CELLPADDING="0"
CELLSPACING="0"
><TR
><TH
COLSPAN="3"
ALIGN="center"
>Gnumeric's user manual</TH
></TR
><TR
><TD
WIDTH="10%"
ALIGN="left"
VALIGN="bottom"
><A
HREF="editing-selections.html"
>Prev</A
></TD
><TD
WIDTH="80%"
ALIGN="center"
VALIGN="bottom"
>Chapter 1. Entering data.</TD
><TD
WIDTH="10%"
ALIGN="right"
VALIGN="bottom"
><A
HREF="style.html"
>Next</A
></TD
></TR
></TABLE
><HR
ALIGN="LEFT"
WIDTH="100%"></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="SECT1"
><H1
CLASS="SECT1"
><A
NAME="AUTOFILL"
>Autofill</A
></H1
><P
>When dealing with spreadsheets it's pretty typical to want to
    add a set of cells that contain a series of numbers or dates or other
    values. While this can be done by hand, Gnumeric implements an autofill
    option to allow these sorts of series to be easily filled in.</P
><P
>A typical example of when you want to use this feature is to fill
    a series of numbers, maybe a list of part numbers, or a perhaps a list
    of TV channels. To create a list like this, all the user needs to do
    is to enter the first number into a cell, click on the autofill
    cursor in the bottom right corner of the cell border, and finally drag it in
    the direction to fill. If the first cell contains a '1', for example,
    dragging the autofill button(see <A
HREF="autofill.html#CELLTOBAUTOFILLED"
>Figure 1-14</A
>) down three or four cells
      will fill the cells with '1','2','3', and '4' automatically.(see <A
HREF="autofill.html#CELLSAUTOFILLED"
>Figure 1-15</A
>)</P
><DIV
CLASS="PROCEDURE"
><P
><B
>Autofilling a range of cells</B
></P
><OL
TYPE="1"
><LI
><P
>Select the cell that marks the beginning of the 
	area to autofill</P
></LI
><LI
><P
>Enter the starting value into this cell</P
></LI
><LI
><P
>Click the small rectangle in the bottom right corner
	of the first cell, and drag it to the end of the area to fill.</P
></LI
><LI
><P
>Release the mouse button. The cells in the selected area should
	now be filled with autofilled values</P
></LI
></OL
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="FIGURE"
><A
NAME="CELLTOBAUTOFILLED"
></A
><P
><B
>Figure 1-14. A cell with the seed for an autofill.</B
></P
><P
><IMG
SRC="images/autofill-1.jpg"></P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="FIGURE"
><A
NAME="CELLSAUTOFILLED"
></A
><P
><B
>Figure 1-15. A set of cells being autofilled</B
></P
><P
><IMG
SRC="images/autofill-2.jpg"></P
></DIV
><P
>As handy as being able to simply and quickly generate series of 
    numbers incremented by one is, autofill can do much much more. The next simplest
    example is autofilling with a series using an increment other than 1. For example,
    to create a series that consist of odd numbers starting at 11, just enter 
	'11' into
    a cell and '13' into the next cell. Then select both cells, and stretch the 
selection in order to 
    cover the cells to be filled. If you select the next 5 cells, for example, 
    they will be filled with values '15','17','19','21', and '23.' See <A
HREF="autofill.html#SEEDCELLAUTOFILLSEQUENCE"
>Figure 1-16</A
>
      and  <A
HREF="autofill.html#AUTOFILLSEQUENCE"
>Figure 1-17</A
> for example.</P
><DIV
CLASS="FIGURE"
><A
NAME="SEEDCELLAUTOFILLSEQUENCE"
></A
><P
><B
>Figure 1-16. A seed cell for a date autofill.</B
></P
><P
><IMG
SRC="images/autofill-3.jpg"></P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="FIGURE"
><A
NAME="AUTOFILLSEQUENCE"
></A
><P
><B
>Figure 1-17. A set of cells being filled with a sequence.</B
></P
><P
><IMG
SRC="images/autofill-4.jpg"></P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="SECT2"
><H2
CLASS="SECT2"
><A
NAME="AEN429"
>Filling with Dates</A
></H2
><P
>Oh, but numbers are easy you say! The real painful stuff is entering
      dates and times and other information. But never fear, Gnumeric is there
      to help you. Gnumeric has the ability to autofill dates, months, days of the week,
      and more. </P
><P
> As an example, think of a typical business invoice, where everything is
      logged by the month. So it is quite typical to want to fill a series of cells
      with the months of the year in order. To do this is quite simple, essentially the
      same steps as making a numerical fill.</P
><P
>Starting from cell B2, for example, to fill the next 12 cells
      with the months, just enter the string "January" in B2. Then, click the fill button
      and stretch it over the next 12 cells, and release. It is as simple as that. See <A
HREF="autofill.html#DATEFILLSEED"
>Figure 1-18</A
>, <A
HREF="autofill.html#DATEBEINGFILLED"
>Figure 1-19</A
>, and 
	  <A
HREF="autofill.html#CELLSFILLED"
>Figure 1-20</A
>. </P
><DIV
CLASS="FIGURE"
><A
NAME="DATEFILLSEED"
></A
><P
><B
>Figure 1-18. A cell with a date in it, ready to be the seed for a fill.</B
></P
><P
><IMG
SRC="images/autofill-5.jpg"></P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="FIGURE"
><A
NAME="DATEBEINGFILLED"
></A
><P
><B
>Figure 1-19. A set of cells being filled.</B
></P
><P
><IMG
SRC="images/autofill-6.jpg"></P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="FIGURE"
><A
NAME="CELLSFILLED"
></A
><P
><B
>Figure 1-20. A range of cells autofilled with the months.</B
></P
><P
><IMG
SRC="images/autofill-7.jpg"></P
></DIV
><P
> Other examples of strings that can be autofilled include days of
      the week (Monday, Tuesday,...), short weekdays (Mon, Tues, ....),
      and short months (Jan, Feb,...) </P
><P
> More string fill types to follow </P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="SECT2"
><H2
CLASS="SECT2"
><A
NAME="AEN451"
>String And Number autofill</A
></H2
><P
>Gnumeric tries to be intelligent about autofilling number values that
      embedded into text strings. So its possible to autofill cells with values
      like "9 lives to live","8 lives to live", etc. </P
><P
>See <A
HREF="autofill.html#AUTOFILLEXAMPLES"
>Figure 1-21</A
> for some contrived examples.</P
><DIV
CLASS="FIGURE"
><A
NAME="AUTOFILLEXAMPLES"
></A
><P
><B
>Figure 1-21. Some simple autofill examples.</B
></P
><P
><IMG
SRC="images/autofill-8.jpg"></P
></DIV
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="SECT2"
><H2
CLASS="SECT2"
><A
NAME="AEN460"
>Formula autofill</A
></H2
><P
>Probably the most useful of all the autofill capabilities is
      the ability to autofill functions. In practice it works essentially the
      same as all the other autofill methods; it just transfers the functions.
      </P
><P
>See <A
HREF="autofill.html#AUTOFILLFUNCTION1"
>Figure 1-22</A
> and <A
HREF="autofill.html#AUTOFILLFUNCTION2"
>Figure 1-23</A
>
	  for a simple example.</P
><DIV
CLASS="FIGURE"
><A
NAME="AUTOFILLFUNCTION1"
></A
><P
><B
>Figure 1-22. Formula to be autofilled.</B
></P
><P
><IMG
SRC="images/autofill-9.jpg"></P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="FIGURE"
><A
NAME="AUTOFILLFUNCTION2"
></A
><P
><B
>Figure 1-23. Formula autofilled to several cells.</B
></P
><P
><IMG
SRC="images/autofill-10.jpg"></P
></DIV
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="SECT2"
><H2
CLASS="SECT2"
><A
NAME="AEN474"
>Other Notes on autofill</A
></H2
><P
></P
><UL
><LI
><P
>Autofills only work to the down and to the right of a cell.</P
></LI
><LI
><P
>To make a series that decrements instead of incrementing, enter the 
	  highest value into the first cell, then the next value in the second cell and select
	  them both like in the first step outlined above. </P
></LI
><LI
><P
>Starting a series with more than two initial values can result in
	  some unexpected results. Use with care.</P
></LI
></UL
></DIV
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="NAVFOOTER"
><HR
ALIGN="LEFT"
WIDTH="100%"><TABLE
WIDTH="100%"
BORDER="0"
CELLPADDING="0"
CELLSPACING="0"
><TR
><TD
WIDTH="33%"
ALIGN="left"
VALIGN="top"
><A
HREF="editing-selections.html"
>Prev</A
></TD
><TD
WIDTH="34%"
ALIGN="center"
VALIGN="top"
><A
HREF="gnumeric.html"
>Home</A
></TD
><TD
WIDTH="33%"
ALIGN="right"
VALIGN="top"
><A
HREF="style.html"
>Next</A
></TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
WIDTH="33%"
ALIGN="left"
VALIGN="top"
>Editing cells using the selection</TD
><TD
WIDTH="34%"
ALIGN="center"
VALIGN="top"
><A
HREF="editing.html"
>Up</A
></TD
><TD
WIDTH="33%"
ALIGN="right"
VALIGN="top"
>Style.</TD
></TR
></TABLE
></DIV
></BODY
></HTML
>