Often, you want to insert a series of dates into a worksheet. For example, in tracking weekly sales, you may want to enter a series of dates, each separated by seven days. These dates will serve to identify the sales figures.

The most efficient way to enter a series of dates doesn’t require any formulas. Use the Excel AutoFill feature to insert a series of dates. Enter the first date and drag the cell’s fill handle while pressing and holding the right mouse button. Release the mouse button and select an option from the shortcut menu (see Figure 16-3)— either Fill Days, Fill Weekdays, Fill Months, or Fill Years.

The advantage of using formulas (instead of the AutoFill feature) to create a series of dates is that you can change the first date, and the others update automatically. You need to enter the starting date into a cell and then use formulas (copied down the column) to generate the additional dates.

The following examples assume that you entered the first date of the series into cell A1 and the formula into cell A2. You can then copy this formula down the column as many times as needed.

To generate a series of dates separated by seven days, use this formula:

=A1+7

To generate a series of dates separated by one month, use this formula:

=DATE(YEAR(A1),MONTH(A1)+1,DAY(A1))

To generate a series of dates separated by one year, use this formula:

=DATE(YEAR(A1)+1,MONTH(A1),DAY(A1))

To generate a series of weekdays only (no Saturdays or Sundays), use the formula that follows. This formula assumes that the date in cell A1 is not a weekend day.

=IF(WEEKDAY(A1)=6,A1+3,A1+1)

FIGURE 16-3
Using Excel’s AutoFill feature to create a series of dates.

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