Let’s face it: when working with data in Excel, it’s almost never in the format we need. Instead of wasting time writing complex text functions or using tools to manipulate and transform our data, we can use Excel’s Flash Fill tool to automatically fill data down a column based on detected patterns. All we have to do is enter the first row of data the way we want all rows to appear, then activate Flash Fill on the data tab to fill the pattern down the column!
Flash Fill can be used to separate text, reformat the case of text, remove or add text to a text string, and, my personal favorite, extract text from a text string. Check out the table above for an example: let’s say we have a list of email addresses, and from each address we want to extract first name, last name, and the person’s initials. Flash Fill makes this so simple! First we’ll just enter those data points into the correct column for our first row of data. Then press “CTRL E” in the cells directly below the data we entered to activate Flash Fill. Instantly, Flash Fill will detect the pattern we created in the data and will replicate the pattern down each column for us!
Get ready to get your work done…in a flash ; )
