What is fill formatting in Google Sheets?
Fill Formatting is part of copy, paste, fill, or find/replace workflows in Google Sheets. Paste special and the fill handle are the fastest ways to move formulas, values, or formats without retyping.
When to use it
Use paste and fill tools when you are duplicating patterns, fixing bulk typos, or jumping to a named range fast.
When to skip it
Skip manual paste chains when ARRAYFORMULA, QUERY, or a single fill-down formula can populate the range.
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Autofill
Autofill copies a cell or selection downward or sideways using the small blue square fill handle. Sheets detects simple series like 1,2,3 or Mon,Tue,Wed and continues the pattern. Formulas copy with relative references adjusting per row unless you locked absolute refs. Autofill is the fastest way to propagate a working formula across hundreds of rows when ARRAYFORMULA is not needed.
Read guide →Paint format
Paint format is the format painter tool that copies display styling from one cell to others without copying values or formulas. Click the paint roller icon, then click or drag across destination cells. It copies number format, font, fill, borders, alignment, and wrap settings. Essential for making imported CSVs match your template look in minutes.
Read guide →Smart fill
Smart Fill watches columns next to your edit and suggests completing a pattern when it recognizes one. Type a couple examples in a new column beside source data and Sheets may offer to fill the rest with names, emails split from full text, or formatted dates. It is Google's answer to flash fill for quick cleanup without formulas.
Read guide →Done reading about Fill formatting?
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