Using the Fill tool on cells

At its simplest, the Fill tool is a way to duplicate existing content. Start by selecting the cell to copy, then drag the mouse in any direction (or hold down the Shift key and click in the last cell you want to fill), and then choose Edit > Fill and the direction in which you want to copy: Up, Down, Left or Right.

Choices that are not available are grayed out, but you can still choose the opposite direction from what you intend, which could cause you to overwrite cells accidentally unless you are careful.

A shortcut way to fill cells is to grab the “handle” in the lower right-hand corner of the cell and drag it in the direction you want to fill.

Using the Fill tool

Using a fill series

A more complex use of the Fill tool is to use a fill series. The default lists are for the full and abbreviated days of the week and the months of the year, but you can create your own lists as well.

To add a fill series to a spreadsheet, select the cells to fill, choose Edit > Fill > Series. In the Fill Series dialog, select AutoFill as the Series type, and enter as the Start value an item from any defined series. The selected cells then fill in the other items on the list sequentially, repeating from the top of the list when they reach the end of the list.

Specifying the start of a fill series

Result of fill series selection shown above

You can also use Edit > Fill > Series to create a one-time fill series for numbers by entering the start and end values and the increment. For example, if you entered start and end values of 1 and 7 with an increment of 2, you would get the sequence of 1, 3, 5, 7.

In all these cases, the Fill tool creates only a momentary connection between the cells. Once they are filled, the cells have no further connection with one another.

Defining a fill series

To define a fill series, go to Tools > Options > OpenOffice.org Calc > Sort Lists. This dialog shows the previously-defined series in the Lists box on the left, and the contents of the highlighted list in the Entries box.

Predefined fill series

Click New. The Entries box is cleared. Type the series for the new list in the Entries box (one entry per line), and then click Add.

Defining a new fill series