Lesson 7: Create Custom list in Excel

How to create Custom List in Excel using Auto fill & Flash fill Features?

This video is a part of free Excel Training Singapore, where I show you how to use Custom List in Excel using Auto fill & Flash fill Features from the basics and also cover a lot of advanced Features.

Microsoft excel comes with various powerful and useful features such as auto fill, custom list and flash fill that help people work on the professional front. Such features possess multiple uses and can be used to enter data, perform calculations on it, prepare lengthy sheets, tables and charts as well. They help minimize the human effort and eradicate the chances of errors making data a lot more reliable, presentable and professional.

Benefits of auto fill, flash fill and custom list in excel.

Microsoft excel benefits it’s users by providing with certain powerful features that make working will complex data very simple Such functions are auto fill, flash fill, custom fill. The benefits of using them are mentioned below –

• Auto fill is probably the smartest features of Microsoft Excel as it recognizes the pattern going on in the data and fills the entire row just by a single click.
• Custom list function comes as a helping tool in cases where auto fill doesn’t recognize the pattern going on in the data. This function allows user to create a list of their own that gets saved in excel’s memory.
• Flash fill function is an addition to the Microsoft unit and is available in 2013 version of it. Flash fill helps to make a list out of previously mentioned data by recognizing a pattern out of it.

How to auto fill data in excel?

Filling diverse data in an excel sheet can be a troublesome task as it leaves many chances of inaccuracy and mistakes thereby consuming a lot of time and effort. To learn how to auto fill data in the cells of an excel sheet, follow the following mentioned steps –

• Start with typing data in the first cell. Make sure to type at least a minimum of two consecutive data in the cell so that excel can recognize the pattern going on.
• Click on the right corner of the two selected cells where a green square appears
• Drag down by clicking the left mouse button, till the desired location and release. You’ll notice that all the cells are filled in the same pattern.
• Excel gives various other options when you click on the right corner of the selected cell, such as copy cells, fill series, fill formatting only, fill without formatting and flash fill as well.

How to use the custom list option?

Undoubtedly, Microsoft excel auto fill has the brain of its own but when it comes to certain lists such as a sequence of logical things, excel lags behind. Though, auto fill doesn’t provide that, it can be done using custom lists. To learn how to use custom lists, follow the following mentioned steps –

• Write the sequence of data you want to imbedded in Microsoft Excel’s memory in the worksheet
• Start by clicking on file tab on the right most corner of the tab. Go to options, within excel options, go to advanced.
• Scroll down the entire box and click on the option edit custom list option in general section.
• Click on the edit custom list option, a custom list dialogue box will appear.
• You’ll see some of the already mentioned lists. To add your list to excel’s memory click on import option and select the data initially entered in the work area
• As soon as the data is selected, click import and the list will get added to Excel’s memory.

How to use flash fill in Microsoft Excel?

Flash fill is a new feature of the excel 2013 that wasn’t available in the earlier versions. This allows excel to identify the pattern going on in the data and perform various functions on it. To learn how to use flash fill, follow the following mentioned steps –

• Write some data let’s say for example all the US presidents till present. Make sure to write their full names
• In the next column, write the first name of the president mentioned first.
• Drag down the cell by clicking on the green square at the right corner till the last cell. This drag will copy the same first name in all the cells.
• The right clicks on the data, an option appears, click on flash fill
• This click will replace the same first name of the president so copied with first name of the president written in the presidents mentioned next to it

Learn how to work with Microsoft excel by the experts themselves!

To learn how to make the most use of Microsoft Excel, join a skillsfuture excel course in Singapore today!

In this Tutorial of Excel Training Singapore, you will learn about tools that can help you when working with data in Excel.

In this lesson, Covers the following Module:

• AUTO FILL: This allows you to quickly fill data in contiguous cells.
• CUSTOM LISTS: Custom lists allows you to create your own lists that you can use in Auto fill.
• FLASH FILL: Flash fill is a Latest feature in Microsoft Excel 2013 and allows you to identify a pattern in data and perform data slice and dice based on the pattern.

This video is a part of Excel Training Singapore, where I show you how to use Excel from the basics and also cover a lot of advanced Features.