Setting Autofill Default
Setting Autofill Default
No option to set AutoFill default to the option you want.
Even for numbers or dates you should be able to use "Copy Cells" in stead of "Fill series"

This is a good idea, but we don’t think we’ll be able to support this in the near future. As a workaround, you can use the autocorrect widget in the bottom right of the fill range to set the option you want.
58 comments
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Anonymous commented
I don't understand MSFTs reluctance to address this. This problem ****** me off every single time I use Excel, far more than anything else, and I'm clearly not alone. It can't possibly be a difficult thing to address. Excel is my favorite piece of software in the world, but this is a constant annoyance. C'mon Microsoft, listen to your customers on this one.
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Anon commented
I think this feature would be very helpful
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Anonymous commented
Please get to this ASAP. It's very frustrating. It seems like it copies when I want it to fill and fills when I want it to copy. I would like to be able to change the default depending on what I prefer at the time.
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Anna Ruohonen commented
Quick workaround: After you have double clicked (and it fills in the series), if you then click Ctrl + D right away it redoes it as a copy.
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Anonymous commented
This would be a very helpful feature for me!
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Joe Sixpack commented
What a great idea. This would be a great time-saver, as I have to use the workaround at least 20 times a day, or use different ways around it.
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Lindsay commented
Please add a feature that allows inserted pictures to be moved and sized with cells. Thanks.
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Buzzydude commented
Hi Admin,
Wait.....did you guys get hacked???
Ahhh so that's why your non-productive response was posted hahahaOk so NOW that the hacker has been caught and dealt with, could the REAL ADMIN TEAM, you know, an actual Admin who works for this Multi-Million Dollar Company called Microsoft please have this very simple problem fixed.
And next time, do us all a favor and please keep all passwords secure to ensure these HACKERS don't post their dumb idea's again lol.
Cheers
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Charles Ake commented
Why should there be a workaround? Microsoft products are used by millions of people and I'm sure there are more than "just a few" that would benefit from Copy Cells being the AutoFill default action. Frankly, why not let each user choose what's best for them. Why does Microsoft have to dictate the way we work? When you're working with complex spreadsheets with thousands and thousands of values, small but extra clicks add up over time and a fix will improve efficiency. Further, Office365 Excel will also Fill Series when even part of the first cell is numerical. For example, Fill Series for "Method 1A" becomes "Method 2A" or "24 hr." becomes "25 hr." This can lead to transcription errors if the user doesn't check ALL the contents of each cell, and use the autocorrect widget EVERY SINGLE TIME.
I would hope that the Excel Team at Microsoft is interested in improving their products, in part, with features that improve efficiency of operations and data accuracy for many end uses.
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Uncle Fester commented
for Excel 2016: an explanation is expected, "unable" is an insufficient response. The cumulative picayune work-arounds one has to remember about the hidden idiotsyncracies of excel. Suppose Microsoft has never considered the cumulative impact of memory fatigue for such trivial things?
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Dimon S commented
This is fixed already in office 365.
Don't know about 2016 - it's quite buggy.
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Lenny Nimoy commented
CTRL button is no solution at all even for small drags. You must know the rules and even then they are buggy (inconsistent), for example if there is text in the content it will increment regardless, if it is only numbers, it will copy. Then there are other combinations of content which will do other stuff. Finally All the rules are out of the window if you select multiple cells!
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Juan Pablo Gallardo commented
Im wondering why this idea was removed from my posting, I am the one that originally requested this, and then it was deleted and someone else took the idea and posted it, how that works?
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JOHANNA PREISZNER commented
Tyler, you are right of course.
I did not think that big.
So I'm back to angry to MS.
Johanna -
Tyler H commented
@Johanna, this only works if you are dragging down to copy, it doesn't work for the double click on the bottom right corner. That is a good solution if you are only needing to fill 10 rows, but when you have more data then just that its very irritating, and easy to move on and miss.
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JOHANNA PREISZNER commented
Hi, fellow upset commenters.
I just complained about this to my son, and there IS a solution. The CTRL button toggles between the "Fill Series" and "Copy Cells" options. Just press it while you try to do autofill. Whatever is the autofill default on your software the CTRL button will switch it to the other.
No idea why the Excel Team did not let everybody know this instead of just sending a rejection note.
Cheers! -
Tonya Woolard commented
A workaround? Really? It can't be that freaking difficult to program in a default action! I mean, it's already defaulted to series!! Can't you just change that??
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Lenny Nimoy commented
How absurd! your workaround is just what we are trying to avoid because EACH person has to be reminded over and over to click the correction EVERY time this feature is used. It renders the feature impractical even with a small probability of forgetting! This one tiny bug has reduced the usability of ms-excel by a huge margin. On many occasions the errors it has introduced has cost us many thousands of dollars!
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Tom Johnson commented
You'd think this was a no brainer...I guess not. Miicrosoft can you please fix this?
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Anonymous commented
hello, yes I passed one hour seeking for this option I thought it's normal to have it
so I give a big yes to this option