How to fix Autofill errors in Excel

Are you facing AutoFill problems in Excel ? Here are some ways to help you quickly fix data autocomplete errors in Microsoft Excel .

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While AutoFill is one of the easiest and most popular Excel features to use, it still throws errors from time to time. However, don't worry too much. You can solve the problem easily with the methods below.

Enable Fill Handle

From time to time, Excel's AutoFill feature may stop working without any notice. When this happens, the first step you should check is whether the AutoFill selection option is enabled.

1. Open the File menu > go to Options .
2. Here, select Advanced from the left-hand menu and scroll down to the Editing Options section .
3. Check Enable fill handle and cell drag-and-drop . Additionally, you should check the Alert before overwriting cells to avoid accidentally editing important information.

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Give Excel more data

Occasionally, AutoFill does not work as intended if you do not provide enough data for this tool to detect the algorithm. Try selecting more cells before using AutoFill, or manually entering more data before activating the AutoFill control.

Remove unnecessary filters

The AutoFill feature may stop working if there is a conflict with another Excel tool. For example, if a filter was added to classify Excel data, AutoFill could not detect the algorithm it should use.

Columns or rows to which the filter is applied usually have a Filter icon in the top cell. To remove a filter, follow the steps below:

1. Select the row or column that contains the filter.
2. Open the Data tab .
3. From the Filter menu , click Clear .

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Stop pressing Ctrl or Cmd

The AutoFill feature behaves differently each time you press & hold Ctrl or Cmd while using it. If you press & hold the key while filling in a cell with data, AutoFill will repeat the data instead of expanding the string of numbers, text, or dates.

Now, if you don't actively press the Ctrl or Cmd key but it's still running, it's likely the key is stuck. In this case, you can try several options:

1. Wipe down the keyboard to remove dust that could interfere with the key's function.
2. Disconnect the keyboard if you are using a USB or Buletooth keyboard.
3. Remap the key to disable the function of the Ctrl or Cmd key.

Turn on automatic calculation

Another setting that can block the AutoFill feature from working is the automatic calculation selection. In Excel, open the Formulas tab > Calculation Options menu . Here, select Automatic .

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Above are the simplest ways to fix AutoFill not working error on Microsoft Excel 2019 . Hope the article is useful to you.

Micah Soto

Update 24 July 2023