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Excel - Excel Tutorial: Copy Formulas Easily with This Clever Trick | MrExcel Netcast - Episode 545

544 views · Published 29 July 2009 · 3:12 · Indexed 20 September 2026

Channel: MrExcel.com · 2009 · Education

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Microsoft Excel Tutorial: Copy Formulas Easily with This Clever Trick.

Welcome back to the MrExcel netcast! In today's video, I'll be sharing a helpful tip from one of our viewers, Suzanne in Chicago. I had the pleasure of meeting Suzanne at one of my Power Excel seminars and I'm excited to share her tip with all of you.

Before we dive into the tip, I wanted to let you know that we have a jam-packed schedule of seminars for the fall. Our biggest event is the Data Analyst Boot Camp in Chicago from September 18th to the 20th. This three-day seminar, hosted by myself and Mike Alexander, covers everything you need to know about Excel and Access. It's a fantastic opportunity for anyone interested in these programs. We also have half-day seminars scheduled in Birmingham, Milwaukee, Madison, Springfield, and we're working on adding Boise to the list. Plus, we have a couple of hour and a half breakout sessions in Virginia Beach and Roanoke. If you're interested in attending any of these seminars, just head to the home page of MrExcel and click on the "Upcoming Seminars" link. And if you're part of an accounting group or a large company with 30 to 50 people, I'd love to come out and do a seminar for your group.

Now, onto the tip! As many of you know, my favorite trick in Excel is using the double-click fill handle to copy a formula down a column. However, this trick only works if the column to the left is filled with data. But what if you have a sparsely populated column to the left, like an apartment or suite number? That's where this tip comes in handy.

To ensure that the double-click fill handle trick works, simply hide the column to the left. Excel will then rely on the column that is two columns to the left. So if we have a formula in column D, we can hide column C and double-click the fill handle to copy the formula down. Once we're done, we can unhide the column and our data will be complete.

Alternatively, if you have data to the right of the column you want to copy, you can insert a blank column between the two. This will also allow the double-click fill handle trick to work, as Excel will now rely on the column to the right. Whichever method you choose, it will save you time and prevent the need for the "fill handle dance" where you drag the fill handle back and forth to copy the formula.

Thanks for watching this MrExcel netcast! Don't forget to subscribe to our channel for more helpful tips and tricks. See you next time!

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My favorite trick is to double click the fill handle to copy a formula. But, this requires the column to the left to have no blanks cells. Today, Suzanne from Chicago gives us a great trick of how to overcome a sparse column to the left of the formula. Episode 545 shows you how.

This blog is the video podcast companion to the book, Learn Excel from MrExcel. Download a new two minute video every workday to learn one of the 277 tips from the book!

Table of Contents:
(00:00) Introduction and upcoming seminars
(00:25) Data analyst boot camp in Chicago
(00:35) Half-day seminars in various cities
(00:53) Request for seminars in other cities
(01:11) Excel tip: copying formulas using the fill handle
(01:50) Alternative method for copying formulas using hidden columns
(02:18) Another alternative method using inserted columns
(02:52) Clicking Like really helps the algorithm

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