I'm working on a spreadsheet where values entered in two columns will often (but not always) be the same for the entire column. When dragging down the column with the fill handle, however, one column copies data and the other increments it and I don't understand why. The column that increments is also copying borders down the column, the other column isn't. Under the formatting window both columns have the exact same settings (other than background color, but I tried changing that and it had no impact), why is it behaving this way and is there any way to change the default behavior for each column?
Note: I've tried ctrl+dragging the columns, and the "Extract Volume" column copies values correctly, but still is copying borders while the "Dilution" column is just copying values.
Before dragging handle:
After dragging handle:
Enter 50 in the first two rows of Extract Volume and then drag it down that should work.
I have a feeling that the datatypes for both columns are different and that's why you're getting this error.
Another approach is, Enter 50 in the first row, Copy it, highlight the rows you wish to fill and paste.
Related
In addition to a single cell, Excel allows you to select multiple unconnected cells independently by pressing ctrl when clicking the cells.
I use this feature to insert a row between each existing row, which is my ultimate goal. You can do this by independently selecting one cell in each row and then right-clicking and inserting rows.
This process works fine for tens of rows, but in some cases, I need to independently select 1000+ cells in a column to insert a row between each row in a large sheet. To be clear, I'm not talking about ranges. Instead of A1:A1000, I mean to select A1,A2,A3...A1000.
Is this possible without manually clicking each cell?
Insert a helper column with even numbers this way
type the value 2 into the first row
type the value 4 into the second row
select the two cells and double click the fill handle to fill down to the last row of your data or drag to the desired point.
Below your data, in the same column, enter odd numbers 1,3,5,etc, using a similar technique.
Next, sort your data by the new column.
Viola! Blank rows between all rows of data.
I have an Excel spreadsheet which spans columns A to T and for ease of reading, the cells have borders. Currently when another row of data is added to the spreadsheet though, I, or other users, have to add borders around the cells, just for cells in columns A to T where is something (usually, but not always, a date) in Column B on that row. The spreadsheet is a log of survey results, and gets very long by the end of the year, but doesn't have a defined number of rows, because it's being added to all the time. It's not much of a problem for me to add borders, but other users not familiar with Excel either manage to add borders to all the cells in columns A to T making the end of the list look untidy with cells with borders but no contents or they just don't bother adding borders and it gets very messy for managers to read (apparently!).
I'm trying to use conditional formatting with a formula to format the cells, but can't seem to get the formula right. I'm basically trying to get Excel to add a border around cells in columns A to T on any row where the cell in column B on that row isn't empty. I've tried various formulas with no luck so far and just end up with borders everywhere but where I want them!
Some of what I've tried so far (I can't remember all the ones that didn't work!):
(row 4 is the first row of data)
=$B2<>"" (applied to =$A:$T) (adds borders above the table, but not below)
NOT(ISBLANK($B4)) (applied to =$A:$T) (doesn't add any additional borders)
=B4<>"" (applied to =$A:$T) (doesn't add any additional borders)
=not(exact(B4, "")) (applied to =$A:$T) (doesn't add any additional borders)
...and of course using Excel's inbuilt "cell doesn't contain a blank value" doesn't allow you to specify that you want to know if another cell isn't blank. It'll add borders around cells after you've input into them, but if a cell in another column is blank for any reason, it leaves 'holes' in the table where there aren't any borders which makes it look even more messy.
Am I just fundamentally misunderstanding the formulas, or can this not be done? (or do I need VBA to do this?)
Your formula needs to refer to the first row of the Applied To area:
=$B1<>""
And apply it to =$A:$T
I'm going through a large amount meteorological data through excel in order to do some climatic modelling on a building. As a lot of data out there, there are some missing chunks.
So my first concern was to figure out the largest succession of blanks in my data I have done this by using =MAX(FREQUENCY(IF(T5:T101893="",ROW(T5:T101893)),IF(T5:T101893<>"",ROW(T5:T101893)))).
So this returns the maximum succession of blanks in a given column. In my case the maximum succession of blank cells was 28.
What I would like to figure out is where in the 101,893 lines is that succession of 28 blanks.
I've tried scouring the internet without much success. I've also tried using the match and index functions by trying to match an array of 28 blanks (which obviously didn't work) or an array of 28 1s (I made an extra column next to my data with =if(T5="",1,0)), so it could match my array to the one in that column and return its position. It returned an incorrect position.
In the following simplified example below, the helper column tracks the 'run' of blanks using:
=IF(AND(ISBLANK(A1),ISBLANK(A2)),B1+1,1)
Which you copy down to the last row of data. You can then use this formula to get the row of the max of the 'longest' run:
=MATCH(MAX(B2:B25),B2:B25)+1
In that formula, I've use +1 (at the end) because there is 1 row with headers. In your sheet it needs to be +x where x is the number of headers and blank rows etc at the top of your sheet.
Screenshot:
Conditional Formatting might help, once you know how many sequential blanks to look for. Select entire data area (assumed starting in A1), clear any existing CF from it and HOME > Styles - Conditional Formatting, New Rule..., Use a formula to determine which cells to format and Format values where this formula is true::
=COUNTIF(A1:A28,"")=28
Format..., select red fill, OK, OK.
Unless you have other red fill in the sheet, should be very evident where such a sequence starts, column by column. If in doubt, filter each column in turn for blanks.
If your sheet then grinds to a halt, apply standard red fill where the CF has and then remove CF from the sheet.
I am trying to drag the bottom right corner downwards to copy some data and it always increments my numbers that I want to copy. If I select copy cells in the auto fill options then it copies the numbers properly but also copies the formatting, but if I select fill without formatting it increments the numbers. I want both. My first cell has a strong border above it that I don't want every cell to have. However my data is in semi small increments of the same problem so copying the first cell once then dragging would be way to inefficient. Thanks for the help.
Original data example
Using copy cells, right numbers wrong formatting
Use the following formula in the any one of the columns you are not using and drag it down to the end of data. Then copy the result to your column E as values. If your helper column is N then:
=IF(E3<>"",E3,N2)
What I usually do in these situations is separate the values from the formatting.
make a copy of the column you want to edit (either adjacent to it,
or outside the table you're editing).
On the new column - use copy cells in the autofill menu, or
otherwise complete the values according to your needs.
paste the new column back on the original column As values.
Delete the new column
I have columns of data, each cell is a formula referencing data from several rows on another sheet (based on a dropdown box).
I now need to update many columns at once and simply copying the formula down into the next cell in the column, Excel tries to match the 'wrong' cells - the column is going down, the rows are going across, meaning I'd have to type in the correct cells manually every time I copy down this formula.
The rows are updated daily with pulled data/VBA and I can't touch the formatting of the columns either.
Not sure how to do this quickly. I have dates placed down each row/column, if that could be used somehow.
Shown: 2 different sheets, example of 2 rows a single cell will reference. There are many of these rows and columns. This is the formula:
=IF($B$7=1,'xx'!L619,IF($B$7=2,'xx'!M619,IF($B$7=3,'xx'!N619,IF($B$7=4,'xx'!Q619,IF($B$7=5,'xx'!Q619,0)))))
When copying the cells down, the formula updates L619, M619... with L620, M620... when instead I'd need P619, Q619...
This may help if you adapt it to your situation:
You can use the OFFSET or INDEX functions to set your spreadsheet up in such a way to transpose a horizontal row of data into a vertical column of data (and be able to drag the formula).
The trick is, you need a column (you can even hide it) with your increments in the cells i.e. 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7...n
For example:
A1:A101 are where my increment values from 0 to 100 are.
my horizontal data starts at E15, and continues on with F15, G15, H15, etc.
This is my formula:
= OFFSET($E$15,0,$A1)
When I drag this down in a column, it corresponds exactly to the horizontal rows of data. The same thing can be done using INDEX.
Your situation sounds a little more complicated, but you might be able to build on this to suit your needs.