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Fill a Column using a List

Select menu: Spread | Calculate | List Fill

This dialog lets you specify a general patterned sequence of numbers to be entered into a column.

  1. From the menu select Spread | Calculate | List Fill.

Column

This lists all the available columns in the current spreadsheet. The selected column will be filled.

List formulae for sequence

This provides a space for you to specify a sequence of numbers to be inserted into the column. A list is a sequence of numbers separated by commas. The list can contain progressions and pre– or post-multipliers.

A progression is a set of numbers ascending or descending with equal increments, and can be specified succinctly using the form “number, number … number” where the first two numbers define the first two elements in the list (and thus the increment) and the list ends with the value beyond which the third number would be passed. For lists with an increment of plus or minus one, the second number can be omitted, to give the form “number…number”. For example the progressions 1…5 = 1,2,3,4,5, 10…6 = 10,9,8,7,6 and 0,2…9 = 0,2,4,6,8 (this excludes 9 which is not in the sequence of adding the increment 2).

A multiplier allows repetitive lists to be specified concisely. A pre-multiplier occurs immediately before the initial (round) bracket of a pair enclosing a list of numbers and has the effect of repeating each item, in turn, the specified number of times. For example 3(1,2) = 1,1,1,2,2,2. A post-multiplier is given immediately after the second of a pair of round brackets enclosing a list of numbers and has the effect of repeating the entire list, as a whole, the specified number of times. For example (1,2)3 = 1,2,1,2,1,2. The progressions and multipliers can be combined as shown in the examples below.

3(4.8,9.3) = 4.8,4.8,4.8,9.3,9.3,9.3
2(1…4) = 1,1,2,2,3,3,4,4
2(1,2,4)3 = 1,1,2,2,4,4,1,1,2,2,4,4,1,1,2,2,4,4
(2(1),4(0))2 = 1,1,0,0,0,0,1,1,0,0,0,0
(1…3)2,3(4,5) = 1,2,3,1,2,3,4,4,5,5
(5…1),(1…5) = 5,4,3,2,1,1,2,3,4,5
3(0,(1,2)2) = 0,0,0,1,2,1,2,1,2
(1,3…11)2 = 1,3,5,7,9,11,1,3,5,7,9,11

Fill from cell

Top Start filling from the first cell in the column.
Current Start filling from the cell specified in the Current cell to fill from option. By default this value is specified as the current cell. When selected, the option Current cell to fill from is enabled and the starting cell for the column to be filled can be specified in the space provided.

Fill to

Bottom Fill all the cells, recycling the list if needed.
End of list Fill the cells until the list is exhausted and then stop.

Action buttons

OK Fill column with list and close the dialog.
Apply Fill column with list and leave dialog open.
Cancel Close the dialog without further changes.

See also

Updated on March 18, 2019

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