Hello everyone, this video covers the topic of flash fill (Ctrl + E as a shortcut) in Excel. This will not replace the need for all formulas but it can be a great way to complete simple tasks that follow a pattern. I appreciate all the feedback and comments below and will look to implement your thoughts. Thank you for the support and wishing everyone a great day.
Yes, definitely not a replacement for formulas. It's also kind of dangerous. You assume that the information is a formula and yet when you correct the one of the last or first name fields, the name doesn't get updated. Worse, if you don't know this, you won't notice it.
As is, I consider it a novelty and not something I would want to have to spend time thinking about as to when I was willing to accept it versus putting in a formula. I would be much happier if it gave the option to put in the formula that it "determined" was what you wanted. It is sort of like writing with a pen rather than with a pencil and eraser. You just know that if you use it, someone is going to want a tweak made.
+TheMightyNoseGoblin You're so lucky to have found this tip so early in your learning process! A lot (most?) of us have been doing these things without Ctrl + E for _decades._
The fact that it fills the fields with the current values rather than dynamically recalculating them means the process is human-controlled every time. Formulae take a little more time to setup, but will recalculate every time.
That's good introduction. But also you could have mentioned the technical name for this which is "Flash fill" in excel. This will help people to explore it in more detail.
I've been using Excel for years and never saw this cool shortcut until your video. Thank you! I was set to retire this August, but I've decided to put it of for another year, just so I can use your trick at work!
Congratulations! You just broke the minds of my Teams group chat. Now we are all calculating how many hours we have collectively lost by not knowing this... :P Thanks for the video!
Thank you so much for this helpful tip. As a teacher, I can see where this application will replace CONCAT for extracting Given and Family names but also LEFT and RIGHT which I use to parse student numbers. Excellent tip! Great for setting up Mail Merger to generate test results. After sorting by score and inserting a row between grades, I was able to quickly make grade-based comments, and then delete the blank rows.
I knew that if I went to the trouble of entering a formula, I could copy that cell and paste it down the column and it would use relevant new cells to perform the same function but this Control+E is nice - Thanks.
I've used this often when doing data cleanup (prior to even basic knowledge of Power Query [much better name than "Get & Transform"]). The main problem I see with it is that it's not sustainable or easily extensible. It's great for quick and dirty (worked great on my 20,000 row sheets of data). But repeated use makes it quite difficult. If you're dealing with large amounts of data requiring lots of manipulation and repetition, Power Query is a much better way to go (in general). Now, if you can use this "formula-by-example" approach, where you just enter examples based on data, and you can get a formula produced, that would be something. Regardless, it's always helpful to have a nice toolbox full of handy tools. You just need to know limitations and functional expertise (what works best in particular situations or types of data). Practice and experiment with COPIES of data (I call this play so it seems more fun).
As always in Excel, the simpler the solution is (if there is a feature on the Ribbon or a shortcut key combo), the less flexible or useful it is if the data changes.
When I was splitting time that didn't allow me to use Textsplit for some reason.... this would've saved me more time than I am willing to admit.... Thank you
At time of writing, Flash fill is really great, until the source data changes and the non-dynamic flash-filled column doesn't update until you Flash Fill again. Only formulas are guaranteed dynamic. Also it only seems to work with contiguous cells and not with large gaps between columns.
And it only works on the right side. Plus, why in hell would one ever use a spreadsheet to generate a form letter? A word processor document that uses the raw data is the better choice.
A spectacular shortcut that I wish I would have learned about years ago! I will share this with my team and look for other videos from you. Great presentation, and in the perfect amount of time to make the point. I've read through many of the comments and learned there are some limitations (like when the data changes, the values don't update which is also helpful to know. Well done!
Very clever..........i only used Excell many years ago to produce a yearly budget accounting for my household needs and that took me many days to get it together.......I'm not computer literate at all and only scratched Word and had a short dabble with Excell, but I have the books on Excell and Word for Dummies etc.
I reckon I know my way around excel (formulas, macros, and all other advanced functions) but this was absolute magic to me haha how I never knew this before is simply laughable. Would have made my life so much easier back in the day when cleaning up massive data sets. I do need familiarise myself with all the new excel functionality though. Thanks for this 👍🏻
Thank you! Although I usually need the output to change when inputs are changed, added or deleted, this is another quick way to do something on the spot.
That's incredible, I like formulas but this is very useful for quick and dirty tasks when I'm not going to use the workbook over and over.. This can be a real timesaver. thanks for searching
Hello everyone, this video covers the topic of flash fill (Ctrl + E as a shortcut) in Excel. This will not replace the need for all formulas but it can be a great way to complete simple tasks that follow a pattern. I appreciate all the feedback and comments below and will look to implement your thoughts. Thank you for the support and wishing everyone a great day.
Yes, definitely not a replacement for formulas. It's also kind of dangerous. You assume that the information is a formula and yet when you correct the one of the last or first name fields, the name doesn't get updated. Worse, if you don't know this, you won't notice it.
As is, I consider it a novelty and not something I would want to have to spend time thinking about as to when I was willing to accept it versus putting in a formula. I would be much happier if it gave the option to put in the formula that it "determined" was what you wanted.
It is sort of like writing with a pen rather than with a pencil and eraser. You just know that if you use it, someone is going to want a tweak made.
What is the easy way for combine Birth (in cell A1) and Date (in cell A2) into Birthdate (in cell A2)?
@@BW022 Yup, this is pretty much worse than using formulas. Goes right into my "never use this shit" bin
What about the opposite?
I have been learning Excel for a few weeks now and this is one of the best tips I have seen.
Thank you for watching. Let me know if you have any questions.
+TheMightyNoseGoblin You're so lucky to have found this tip so early in your learning process! A lot (most?) of us have been doing these things without Ctrl + E for _decades._
Been working with Excel for 20 years now. Did not know this… Wish I could like your video more then once
Ditto!
That's a relatively recent feature, so no :)
Flash fill was introduced in Microsoft office, 2013.
I'm shocked! Use professionally excel for years, but this one is one of the best!!! Thanks!
The fact that it fills the fields with the current values rather than dynamically recalculating them means the process is human-controlled every time. Formulae take a little more time to setup, but will recalculate every time.
@creanero Correct. One DOES NOT actually replace the other, especially considering the distinct functionality...
Exactly. Ctrl+E is for this type of one off situation that comes up very often.
formulae?
@@neverhit17 _Formulae_ is an acceptable plural of formula however _formulas_ is normally used in general conversation like this.
I saw the same thing. Without dynamically updating, I have a hard time finding a use-case for this.
That's good introduction. But also you could have mentioned the technical name for this which is "Flash fill" in excel. This will help people to explore it in more detail.
nice
I've been using Excel for years and never saw this cool shortcut until your video. Thank you! I was set to retire this August, but I've decided to put it of for another year, just so I can use your trick at work!
Thank you =)
Let me know if there are any other tricks you'd like to see.
Congratulations! You just broke the minds of my Teams group chat. Now we are all calculating how many hours we have collectively lost by not knowing this... :P Thanks for the video!
🤯 MY MIND HAS JUST BEEN BLOWN BY THIS TIP!
UNREAL.. this is just incredible.. more please
Wow, concise with no filler. I'm now a subscriber. Thank you
Wow! That was the most productive 2:30 minutes of my whole day! Thank you 🙏🏻 for sharing!!!
Really appreciate the comment, thank you for watching =)
This is great feature I'm pleased to know about. I can see me using it in specific situations but it will never replace formulas if it's not dynamic.
Wow, the Ctrl+E is soooo powerful. Saved me a million years in using functions. Thank you so much for sharing this. 👍👍
You've just Ctrl + E'd my life. Thank you 😊
While not as much *fun* as functions 'n' formulas, I have always *loved* CTL+E's magical instant-ness!
This is really really good. I used to think I a master of Excel. Never knew of this. Thanks for sharing
Holy smokes. Never knew this existed and I have been using Excel for 20 years. Awesome video. Thanks. 😊
Thanks so much!
Thank you so much for this helpful tip. As a teacher, I can see where this application will replace CONCAT for extracting Given and Family names but also LEFT and RIGHT which I use to parse student numbers. Excellent tip! Great for setting up Mail Merger to generate test results. After sorting by score and inserting a row between grades, I was able to quickly make grade-based comments, and then delete the blank rows.
Thank you love the bite sized video and straight to the point with example 😊
I knew that if I went to the trouble of entering a formula, I could copy that cell and paste it down the column and it would use relevant new cells to perform the same function but this Control+E is nice - Thanks.
Wow….I don’t know about this before…thanks for sharing this tips 😊
I've used this often when doing data cleanup (prior to even basic knowledge of Power Query [much better name than "Get & Transform"]). The main problem I see with it is that it's not sustainable or easily extensible. It's great for quick and dirty (worked great on my 20,000 row sheets of data). But repeated use makes it quite difficult. If you're dealing with large amounts of data requiring lots of manipulation and repetition, Power Query is a much better way to go (in general).
Now, if you can use this "formula-by-example" approach, where you just enter examples based on data, and you can get a formula produced, that would be something. Regardless, it's always helpful to have a nice toolbox full of handy tools. You just need to know limitations and functional expertise (what works best in particular situations or types of data). Practice and experiment with COPIES of data (I call this play so it seems more fun).
I know, why the hell would they drop the powerquery name, if you need help online is easier to use powerquery name, is a unique identifier, the irony!
I have a hard time remembering formulas. Thank you for this!
Formulae. I am not at all surprised you struggle, you are very probably an "American".
This is truly a godsend ! I had never heard of this versatile tip. Thanks all the way from Denmark !
@@suresh1957 Welcome from Denmark =)
Eureka! I wish I knew this decades ago...
Very crisp and clear. Thanks
Thank you as well =)
Love it thanks for the tip
As always in Excel, the simpler the solution is (if there is a feature on the Ribbon or a shortcut key combo), the less flexible or useful it is if the data changes.
Wow. Can’t wait to try this
Thank you!
GREAT explanation! I'm an excel noob and this was quick and to the point. Thank you!
Thank you!
What a time saver! Thank you for sharing this great insight!!!
@@oliverphotography1 Really appreciate the comment =)
That is brilliant! i've been using Excel for many years, but never knew about this 😃👍
Appreciate it!
This tip has changed my life! Thank you
OMG! You have just made my life a bzillion times easier!!!!
Hey wanted to say thank you for the super chats =)
Let me know if you have any content topics you want me to cover and thank you for watching.
Now that’s extremely helpful.
Thank you for explaining and usage of flash fill option
Certainly enjoyed it. very good tips.
What genius! Incredibly helpful! Thank you.
Appreciate it =)
I love this simple method....Thank You
Thank you!
Absolutely amazing tips! Thanks!
Thank you so much!
This has made my life much easier. Great 1!
This is a great find. Thank you very much.
I feel like you just saved me a lot of time. Thank you
Really appreciate it =)
That was awesome! Thank you!
Thank you, really appreciate it =)
This is cool. I'm sort of a power user and didn't know about this.
I've been using spreadsheets for thirty years and I think this is magic!
I currently use free version of WPS Office and they call it Flash Fill.
When I was splitting time that didn't allow me to use Textsplit for some reason.... this would've saved me more time than I am willing to admit.... Thank you
Thank you for commenting
oh wow thank you for sharing this new tricks
Thanks. As an educator this will be helpful to my students.
Holy smokes, this blew my mind. What a game-changer it's going to be for me. Thank you!
At time of writing, Flash fill is really great, until the source data changes and the non-dynamic flash-filled column doesn't update until you Flash Fill again. Only formulas are guaranteed dynamic. Also it only seems to work with contiguous cells and not with large gaps between columns.
I was wondering about that, thanks
And it only works on the right side. Plus, why in hell would one ever use a spreadsheet to generate a form letter? A word processor document that uses the raw data is the better choice.
Definitely helpful to people who don't like to memorize many formulas
A spectacular shortcut that I wish I would have learned about years ago! I will share this with my team and look for other videos from you. Great presentation, and in the perfect amount of time to make the point. I've read through many of the comments and learned there are some limitations (like when the data changes, the values don't update which is also helpful to know. Well done!
Thank you for the comment =)
Onenoff solution is helpful, i prefer formula for a repetitive worksheet. Great tip, i learned something new
Excellent video, Thank you for sharing your Knowledge!
Thanks for this tip. Its really good shortcut.
Just WOW!!! I struggle daily with excel, this will be a game changer- Thank you
wow, that's mindblowing ! thank you for the tip
Thank you so much for checking out the video =)
That's an amazing shortcut. Had no idea, thanks.
Very useful.... Learned something new... Thank you
This is the first and onbly thing I like about Excel
What sorcery is this!?? I am subscribed! 🤣😂😅
Simply a great no fuss tip - thanks
Great tip. Thanks for sharing.
Well explained, thanks for sharing!
Thank you for the comment =)
Very cool. I love the shortcuts.
That was cool, hope to try that soon. tHanks for the video
You don't have to ask for a subscribe, I find it very helpful.
That was great. Thanks
Thank you as well. Have a great day =)
Thank you 👍
The last is very good thx a lot 😊
Thank you! I can't tell you how many times I used text-to-columns and then concatenate and thought I was the boss!
Holy crap THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING!!
Brilliant - ctrl + E is my new mantra
Thank you for commenting =)
This is a very and helpfull great tip and has many uses, increase productivity a lot.
Wow that tip is literally gold !!
This is a game changer for me! Thanks so much! 🤗
Thank you for sharing this trick.
Really appreciate the comment =)
Excellent tip. Thanks.
Very clever..........i only used Excell many years ago to produce a yearly budget accounting for my household needs and that took me many days to get it together.......I'm not computer literate at all and only scratched Word and had a short dabble with Excell, but I have the books on Excell and Word for Dummies etc.
Soon Excel will do what we think. I've said it often, it's an amazing program that I wish I knew more about.
Really appreciate the comment.
Wow wow wow. So happy I clicked here!
New to your channel from India, found it really worth it to subscribe. You have gain new one subscribed today. 🎉
Thank you and welcome =)
Awesome tips...thanks for sharing 👍
Thank you for watching =)
I am from Pakistan. your lecture is too too good.
Welcome from Pakistan =) Thank you for watching.
Thank you mr. Career for that. This is very powerful
Really appreciate the comment =)
@@CareerSolutionsforTodayThanks
I reckon I know my way around excel (formulas, macros, and all other advanced functions) but this was absolute magic to me haha how I never knew this before is simply laughable. Would have made my life so much easier back in the day when cleaning up massive data sets. I do need familiarise myself with all the new excel functionality though. Thanks for this 👍🏻
Thank you so much for the comment, glad this video helped =)
Honestly, this is good. thank you thank you. I have subscribed
the last use of ctrl+E that i was looking for like crazy, 2:20
thank you sir!!!
Thank you! Although I usually need the output to change when inputs are changed, added or deleted, this is another quick way to do something on the spot.
That helped me so much. Thanks.
Really appreciate the comment =)
Awesome and very useful, using it now
That was helpful, thanks!
This is an awesome function. I had no idea this existed.
That's incredible, I like formulas but this is very useful for quick and dirty tasks when I'm not going to use the workbook over and over.. This can be a real timesaver. thanks for searching
Broo. this is game changer...
You just made my day! Thank you!
So helpful. Thanks!
Thank you so much!
This is a good TH-cam video. Thanks