Filling

You can enter data into cells automatically by using Calc's fill feature. There are two different ways to fill, depending on whether you want to fill the exact same data or increment data.

You can fill data in any direction: down, up, left, or right.

Filling Exactly the Same Data

Use this procedure to duplicate the contents of a cell down a column or across a row.

1. Click and hold down the left mouse button on the cell whose contents you want to fill.

   

2. Drag in the desired direction to highlight the cells you want to contain the data.

3. Choose Edit > Fill > direction , where direction is the direction you dragged to select the cells.

You can also fill the exact same data by holding down the Ctrl key and filling with the automatic fill handle ( next procedure).

Filling to Increment Data

Use this procedure to automatically increment data as you fill down a column or across a row.

Automatic fill only increments data that Calc recognizes, for example, numbers , dates, and cell references. If Calc doesn't recognize data, automatic fill simply duplicates the data exactly.

1. Select the cell(s) whose contents you want to fill.

   

2. Move the mouse pointer on top of the automatic fill handle in the lower right of the selected cell. The mouse pointer changes shape.

3. Click and hold down the left mouse button on the automatic fill handle, and drag in the desired direction of the fill, selecting all the cells you want to contain data.

When you use automatic fill on cells that contain cell references, you can get strange results if you don't use the correct combination of absolute and relative cell references. For information on this, see Relative and Absolute Cell References on page 568.

If you hold down the Ctrl key while you drag the automatic fill handle, the data will stay the same rather than increment.