The Excel Autofill is Not Working – 7 Issues and Solutions

Solution 1 –  Getting Repetitions of a Number Instead of a Series While Using Autofill

In Column B, the Fill Handle was used to make a series of numbers starting from ‘1’. But repetitions of 1 were returned. To get a series of numbers (1,2,3…), use the Fill Series option manually.

• Select Fill Series from the menu and the series of numbers will be displayed.

Solution 2 – The Series Autofill is Not Working While Dragging the Last Cell Only

‘1’ and ‘3’ are entered in B4 and B5. You want to create a series of numbers with a common difference of 2: 1,3,5,7,9… 

Dragging down the Fill Handle from B5 returns repetitions.

• Select the column first. Here, B4 and B5.
• Use the Fill Handle in B5 and drag it down to B10.

The correct series of numbers is displayed.

Solution 3 – The Excel Autofill is Not Working in Distant Columns in the Same Worksheet

Column B has a series of numbers starting from 1. Column D has two numbers only, 1 and 3 in D4 and D5.

If you double-click the Fill Handle in D5, it won’t fil the series due to the gap between Column B and Column D and the presence of blank cells in Column C.

• Transfer the data in Column D to Column C.
• Double-click the Fill Handle to see the series of numbers.

Read More: Drag Number Increase Not Working in Excel

Solution 4 – The Fill Handle Option Is Not Enabled in Excel

To enable the Fill Handle option manually:

• In Excel Options, go to the Advanced tab.
•  In Editing Options bar, check ‘Enable fill handle and cell drag-and-drop’ and ‘Enable AutoComplete for cell values’.
• Click OK.

Solution 5 – The Autofill is Not Functioning Properly with a Filtered Table

To remove the Filter, press CTRL+SHIFT+L.

Solution 6. The Automatic Calculation Is Turned Off

In the following dataset, C4 contains a value (calculated by multiplying the value in B4 with 5).

The Fill Handle will show repeated values, because the Automatic Calculation is turned off.

• Go to Formulas. In Calculation Options, choose ‘Automatic’.

This is the output.

Read More: [Fix] Auto Fill Options Not Showing

Solution 7. The Autofill with Flash Fill is Not Working Properly

The dataset contains text values in Column B under the Text header. To extract the country names, use the Flash Fill option.

• Extract the country name manually from the first cell only and enter it in C5. Use the Fill Handle to autofill the column and select the Flash Fill option.
• Flash Fill option found a pattern and extracted the values between two hyphens.

• Data must be arranged in a specific pattern as shown below in Column B.

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AutoFill Not Working: Knowledge Hub

• [Solved:] Excel Double Click AutoFill Not Working
• [Fixed!] AutoFill Formula Is Not Working in Excel Table
• [Fix] Excel Fill Series Not Working

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