Introduction:

Flash Fill is an automatic data-filling feature in Excel that recognizes patterns and fills data accordingly.

 

 

How to Use Flash Fill:

1. Type the first entry manually in a column.
2. Start typing the next entry; Excel will suggest autofill values.
3. Press Enter to accept suggestions or Ctrl + E to apply Flash Fill.
4. You can also use Data tabàData toolsàFlash Fill

 

Examples:

• Extracting First Names from Full Names
  • Column A: “John Doe”
  • Column B: “John” (Typed manually in B2, then press Ctrl + E)
• Combining Names
  • Column A: “John”
  • Column B: “Doe”
  • Column C: “John Doe” (Typed manually in C2, then press Ctrl + E)

 

Practice Questions:

1. Extract initials from a list of full names using Flash Fill.
2. Format a list of phone numbers consistently using Flash Fill.
3. Combine first names and last names from two columns into one.