What is Flash Fill Excel

Flash Fill automatically fills your data when Excel detects a pattern in your initial data entry. No need to create or copy any excel formula; everything happened magically.

You can use Flash Fill for various things, extracting or combining name, extracting text, change number format, and many other things. Read the “How to Use Flash Fill in Excel” section for more detail case study and explanation.

Flash Fill is only available in Excel 2013 and later.

How to Enable Flash Fill in Excel

Steps to enable the flash fill menu

1. Click File – Options
2. Click Advance in the left pane
3. Ensure that the Automatically Flash Fill box is checked.

4. Click OK
5. Close and restart Excel

Start Flash Fill Manually

If you have ensured that the Flash Fill menu is active but still not working, you can activate it manually by using a shortcut CTRL+E.

You can activate the Flash Fill Excel menu from the ribbon menu too. Click Data – Flash Fill or Click Home – Fill – Flash Fill.

How to Use Flash Fill in Excel

Below is an example of the Flash Fill menu usage in several cases.

Combining First, Middle and Last Name

You can combine first, middle and last name easily using Flash Fill menu.

Type the full name in cell D2 for the first name. Type the full name in cell D3 for the second name, only a few letters after you type the second name, all full names appear for all names, press ENTER.

Creating an Email Address

You can create an email address without any formula at all.

Type the correct email address based on first, last and company name for the first data. A few letters after typing the second e-mail address, all e-mail addresses for all names appear and press ENTER.

You got an email address easily.

Extracting First and Last Name

Extracting first and last names from a name is easy.

Changing a Text Format

You want to remove the country code and make three groups of numbers; each group consists of 4 digits.

Everything is done with no formula.

Getting a Number from an Alphanumeric Value

You can take all the numbers in column A with no formula, type the first data pattern; then Excel will take all the numbers in column A.

Extracting Day, Month and Year

You can even extract the day, month and year easily, no formulas, using only Flash Fill shortcut CTRL+E.

Creating an Acronym

Want to try creating an acronym using an excel formula? I doubt you can finish it: p. Flash Fill intelligently ignore “of”, “is” and “and” word.

Changing a Case Letter

Start ignoring the LOWER, UPPER and PROPER functions

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What is Paste Special

Paste special is a paste but you can choose the result type.

As we all know, if you copy an excel formula and place somewhere, the result is a formula too. The value could be different from the original value depending on many things.

By using paste special, you can determine whether the result is a formula or a value, you can also determine whether copying the cell format or the cell width.

There are many options; please read the “How to Use Paste Special in Excel” section for detailed explanation.

Paste Special Shortcut

The shortcut for paste special is

CTRL+ALT+V

A dialog appears as shown below.

There are many options you can use. How to use each option read the “How to Use Paste Special in Excel” section

Difference between Paste and Paste Special

Next is the difference between paste and paste special if you copy a number or a formula.

For more a detailed explanation about the difference between paste and paste special, read the “How to Use Paste Special in Excel” section.

How to Paste Special in Excel

Paste Special Values

For example, you have a numeric value in range A1:A5. What will you get if you COPY range A1:A5 and PASTE/PASTE SPECIAL in range C1:C5?

If you use PASTE (CTRL+V) then you get the same number, the same cell format, the same number format but not the column width, the column width does not adjust to the original column width.

If you use PASTE SPECIAL VALUES (CTRL+ALT+V, ALT+V), you get only the same number. Cell format, number format and column width will be the same as the destination cell.

Paste Special Formula

An Excel formula is in range C1:C5, what are the results if you COPY the formula and do PASTE/PASTE SPECIAL in range G1:G5?

If you do a PASTE (CTRL+V), you get the same formula (could be not the same number), the same format cell and the same number format.

If you do a PASTE SPECIAL FORMULA (CTRL+ALT+V, ALT+F), you get only the same formula. Cell format and number format adjusted to the destination cell.

Why the numbers in range G1:G5 is different?

Because you COPY the formula, not the number, to get the number instead of the formula, use PASTE SPECIAL VALUES (CTRL+ALT+V, ALT+V).

The numbers are the same as range C1: C5.

Paste Special Format

If you want to copy the format, either cell format or number format use PASTE SPECIAL FORMAT (CTRL+ALT+V, ALT+F).

Paste Special Add

If you want to add a number with a certain number without using a formula, use PASTE SPECIAL ADD (CTRL+ALT+V, ALT+D)

The result is as shown below.

Paste Special Subtract

The result

Paste Special Divide

The result

Paste Special Multiply

The result

Paste Special Transpose

If you want to change the data orientation in a range from either vertical to horizontal or vice versa, use PASTE SPECIAL TRANSPOSE (CTRL+ALT+V, ALT+E).

There are numbers in the range A1:D1 (horizontal). If you want to copy the numbers and put it in range A2:A6 (vertical) then PASTE SPECIAL TRANSPOSE is the best solution.

The result

Paste Special Skip Blanks

You can use the SKIP BLANKS option if you copy a range with a blank value, so the blank value does not overwrite the existing data in the desired destination.

Range A1:A10 has eight numbers and two empty cells, vice versa range C1:C10 has only 2 number, and the remaining is empty cells. Two numbers in range C1:C10 has the same row position with the empty cells in range A1:A10.

If you COPY range A1:A10 and do a PASTE in range C1:C10, the result is the same as range A1:A10. If you use PASTE SPECIAL SKIP BLANKS, then the empty cell in the range A1:A10 will not overwrite the existing data in range C1:C10.

You get all the numbers in the range A1:A10 and range C1:C10. The result is as shown below.

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How does Excel Store Dates?

Pay attention to the animation below. There are ten dates in column A, all copied and placed in column B, then formatted to Number – General.

The result is as shown below

Excel stores date as integer numbers, known as the date serial number. 1 represents January 1, 1900, 2 represents January 2, 1900, and so on, maximum of 2,958,465 representing December 31, 9999.

The date before January 1, 1900, and after December 31, 9999 is not recognized as the date by Excel.

How does Excel Store Times?

What about the time? Does Excel store it as an integer number too? See the image below for the explanation.

Excel stores time in the decimal number between 0 and 1. Integer number for the date and decimal number for the time.

How are the decimal numbers generated? If 1 represents one day then

How does Excel Store Dates and Times?

If you use the date and time simultaneously, how does Excel store the data?

The result is the integer number represents the date, and decimal numbers represent the time.

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