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How to Autofill a Series of Dates in Excel

Stop typing dates one by one β€” drag once and let Excel fill the rest.

  1. Enter the first date

    Type the date you want to start from into the first cell.

  2. Drag the fill handle

    Drag the small square in the bottom-right corner of the cell (the fill handle) as far as you need.

  3. Check the autofill options

    Click the small icon that appears after you release the drag to switch between filling by day, by weekday only, by month, and other options.

  4. Skip weekends if you need to

    Choose "Fill Weekdays" to skip Saturdays and Sundays and fill in only weekday dates automatically.

  5. Why it matters

    Building an attendance sheet or monthly schedule no longer means typing every date by hand β€” one drag finishes the whole column.

Stop typing every date by hand

When you're building a month's schedule or an attendance log, typing each date individually wastes time and invites typos. Dragging the fill handle once produces a perfectly consecutive run of dates in seconds.

Autofill goes well beyond simple daily increments

The autofill options aren't limited to adding one day at a time β€” the same drag can generate a list spaced by week, month, or year, and combined with the weekday-only option, it can build a ready-made work calendar that already skips weekends.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I also autofill the day of the week alongside the dates?

The dates themselves fill in automatically; add a formula in the next column that displays the weekday and you can see both together.

Can I fill by month or by year instead of by day?

Yes β€” after dragging, open the autofill options icon and choose "Fill Months" or "Fill Years."