Utilize Flash Fill with Keyboard Shortcut - "Ctrl + E" in Excel
December 10, 2020
Flash Fill automatically fills your data when it senses a pattern. It is a powerful function in Excel but got ignored by most people. Its keyboard shortcut is "Ctrl + E." I have to say, just "Ctrl + E" will definitely boost your efficiency a lot. And this article is going to show you how it works with four cases.
How to launch Flash Fill?
In fact, we have two ways to launch Flash Fill:
Way 1: Go to Home tab, find Editing module, and click the downwards arrow next of Fill and select Flash Fill.
Way 2: Use keyboard shortcut "Ctrl + E."
Since shortcut is convenient, we will use it through the article.
What cases can we launch Flash Fill?
There are four cases that you should try Flash Fill.
1. Separate a series of data.
Like a phone number in Excel. It would be nice to separate them to make it clear.
Step 1: Input the number separated in the way you want.
Step 2: Down-drag an area and press "Ctrl + E".
2. Combine data from different columns.
In this example, we utilize flash fill to combine the First name and Last name to a column.
Step 1: Input the name in the third column to offer the pattern.
Step 2: Move cursor to the next cell and press "Ctrl + E".
3. Extract a part of data in one column.
A bunch of data could contain a lot of information. But when we only need a section of it, Flash Fill comes up.
Step 1: Input date of birth in the top cell.
Step 2: Move cursor to the next cell and press "Ctrl + E".
4. Add units in bulk.
Sometimes, we need to add units to countless cells. It doesn't make sense if you do this one by one. So, let's try "Ctrl + E".
In this case, I need to add "$" to every data in Column Amount.
Step 1: Add unit to the content of one cell in another cell.
Step 2: Press "Ctrl + E" like above.
Others: Ctrl + D/R
Mentioned that we have other "Flash Fill" keyboard shortcuts - Ctrl + D/R.
Ctrl + D: Flash fill cells downwards.
Ctrl + R: Flash fill cells rightwards.
It could be used to copy data.
Input "12" in a cell, select an area and press "Ctrl + D".
Drag-select an area rightwards, and press "Ctrl + R", the area selected will be filled with 12.
Not only can flash fill copy contents, but also copy formula.
Drag-select downwards till Cell T10, and press "Ctrl + D".
Likewise, use Ctrl + R to copy formula to fill cells rightwards.
Bottom Line:
Briefly speaking, we can utilize flash fill every time we need to proceed a bunch of data. We often launch flash fill with keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + E.
We can use it in these four cases:
1. separate a series of data..
2. combine data from different columns..
3. extract a part of data in one column.
And it basically only takes two steps and a few seconds:
Step 1: Input a pattern in a cell for Excel to flash fill.
Step 2: Drag-select an area to launch flash fill.
There are also other keyboard shortcuts to flash fill - Ctrl + D/R. They are respectively used to copy data or formulas downwards and rightwards.
Anyway, the more you use flash fill, the more time you save.
