Microsoft Excel 2016 – Save Time with Flash Fill

When you need to enter a lot of repetitive information in Excel, such as dates, the AutoFill feature can help. But, when you need to quickly split a single column of data into multiple columns, just by typing, Flash Fill can do the work for you. Flash Fill recognizes patterns in your data, and completes the data accordingly.

For example, if you have a list of names that is not formatted the way you need it, or that you want to split out--like he first name from an email address.

Start by typing the first name the way you want it (into the First Name column),

Then, start typing the next name into the next cell down, and Excel provides a preview of the names formatted the way you want,

Press Enter and Flash Fill will fill-in the names for you.

Note: Flash Fill works best on consistent data, and doesn’t work on text that’s mistyped (e.g. inconsistent capitalization, like “nAnCy”).

Once the data is filled-in, Flash Fill provides a drop-down box with various options you can apply to your data.

In Excel 2016, the Flash Fill feature is turned on by default and automatically fills your data when it senses a pattern. But if it’s not working as expected, you can turn it on by clicking File tab (Backstage menu), then Options. Click on Advanced and check the Automatically Flash Fill box.