HOW TO: Turn AutoComplete On or Off in Excel 2000

This step-by-step article describes how to turn the AutoComplete feature on or off. (The AutoComplete feature automatically completes entries in columns.)

This information is also covered in more detail in Microsoft Excel 2000 Help. For more information about how to view this information in Help, please see the REFERENCES section later in this article.

Turn AutoComplete On or Off

To turn AutoComplete on or off, follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Edit tab.
2. To allow automatic completion, click to select the Enable AutoComplete for cell values check box. To prevent automatic completion, click to clear the check box.

What Is AutoComplete?

With AutoComplete, you can quickly fill in repeated entries in a column.

If the first few characters that you type in a cell match an existing entry in that column, Microsoft Excel fills in the remaining characters for you. Microsoft Excel completes only those entries that contain text or a combination of text and numbers; entries that contain only numbers, dates, or times are not completed.

• To accept the proposed entry, press ENTER.
  
  The completed entry exactly matches the pattern of uppercase and lowercase letters of the existing entries.
  
  
• To replace the automatically entered characters, continue typing.
  
  
• To delete the automatically entered characters, press BACKSPACE.
  
  

You can also select from a list of entries already in the column. To display the list, press ALT+DOWN ARROW to display the list, or right-click the cell, and then click Pick From List on the shortcut menu.

For more information about AutoComplete, click Microsoft Excel Help on the Help menu, type autocomplete in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topics returned.