Shortcut to Apply a Formula to an Entire Column in

Question

If I select a cell containing a formula, I know I can drag the little box in the right-hand corner downwards to apply the formula to more cells of the column. Unfortunately, I need to do this for 300,000 rows!

Is there a shortcut, similar to CTRL+SPACE, that will apply a formula to the entire column, or to a selected part of the column?

Answer 1

Select a range of cells (the entire column in this case), type in your formula, and hold down Ctrl while you press Enter. This places the formula in all selected cells.

Answer 2

Try double-clicking on the bottom right hand corner of the cell (ie on the box that you would otherwise drag).

Answer 3

If the formula already exists in a cell you can fill it down as follows:

• Select the cell containing the formula and press CTRL+SHIFT+DOWN to select the rest of the column (CTRL+SHIFT+END to select up to the last row where there is data)
• Fill down by pressing CTRL+D
• Use CTRL+UP to return up

On Mac, use CMD instead of CTRL.

An alternative if the formula is in the first cell of a column:

• Select the entire column by clicking the column header or selecting any cell in the column and pressing CTRL+SPACE
• Fill down by pressing CTRL+D