Fill Down Shortcut in Google Sheets

Fill Down copies the value or formula from the top cell of a selected range into every cell below it. Dragging the small fill handle works too, but it’s slow over a long range.

The keyboard shortcut takes one keystroke. Same combo on Windows and Mac, except for the modifier key.

It’s one of those shortcuts that pays back the time spent learning it within a day.

Fill Down Keyboard Shortcut in Google Sheets

Fill Down Keyboard Shortcut (Windows Windows)

Ctrl + D

Fill Down Keyboard Shortcut (Mac Mac)

⌘ + D

What this shortcut does

Fill Down takes whatever is in the top cell of your selection (a value, text, or a formula) and copies it into every cell beneath, all the way to the bottom of the selection.

If the source cell holds a formula with relative references, those references shift as the formula fills, just like dragging the fill handle would do. Absolute references stay locked.

How to use it (step by step)

  1. Click the cell with the formula or value you want to copy down.
  2. Hold Shift and click the bottom cell of your target range. Or click and drag from the source down. Either way, the source has to be the top cell of the selection.
  3. Press the shortcut.
  4. Every cell from the source down to the bottom of the selection now holds the same formula or value, with relative references adjusted.

Alternative method (the fill handle)

The small blue square at the bottom-right corner of a selected cell is the fill handle. Click and drag it down a column and Sheets fills the same way.

This is faster than the shortcut for a short range (three or four rows). The shortcut wins once you have a long range or a column with hundreds of rows.

Things to watch for

  • The source has to be on top. If you select a range and the source cell is in the middle or at the bottom, Fill Down still copies from the TOP cell of the selection, not the active one.
  • Relative references shift. A formula like =A2+B2 filled down a column becomes =A3+B3, =A4+B4, and so on. Use absolute references (the dollar signs) to lock parts that shouldn’t move.
  • Plain values fill as-is. Text and numbers don’t get any clever pattern detection from Fill Down alone. For pattern fills (1, 2, 3, …), use the fill handle with two seed cells.
  • Fill Down on a single cell does nothing. You need at least two cells in your selection.

Google Sheets keyboard shortcuts

Related Google Sheets shortcuts: