Create a Custom AutoFill Series in Excel

Excerpted from QuickClicks Microsoft Excel 2016 Reference Guide

You have a set of offices and sales regions, products and specific business time units (quarters, semi-annual) that you enter repeatedly. AutoFill would be helpful, but the default AutoFill lists do not contain these terms. What can you do? Create a customized AutoFill list. When you have a series of information that always appears or repeats in the same order, you can tell Excel to save your list and recognize it as an AutoFill option.

Create your own AutoFill Series

1. Select the cells which contain the data you want to comprise your custom list.
2. Click the File tab.
3. Click the Excel Options button to open the Excel Options dialog box.
4. Click the Advanced button [A] and scroll to the bottom of the Advanced Options window.
5. Click the Edit Custom Lists button [B] to open the Custom Lists dialog box.

6. The cells you selected will appear in the Import list from cells: text box [C]. Click on the Import button [D] to import your selection as a list. A new list will appear in the Custom lists: window [E], and the items in your selected cells will appear in the List entries: window [F].
7. Click the OK button to close the Custom Lists dialog box, then click OK to close the Excel Options dialog box and save your new list.

8. To use your custom list, place your cursor in a cell, type the first item in the list, and then click and drag the Fill Handle.