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The Apple Support Community will permanently close on November 20, 2026. Starting today, the site will no longer accept new posts and is available in a read-only state.
You can continue to find trusted guidance and support on the official Apple Support site.
We want to thank the community members who have contributed their time and expertise to help others with their Apple products.
I want to copy a date from once cell to the one underneath it. When I click on the cell and pull down the little yellow dot, Numbers puts the next date into the cell instead of copying the date. For example, if I start with May 2, 2025, when I pull it down, expecting it to copy, it instead puts May 3, 2025 in the lower cell. How do I prevent this from happening?
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
Instead of "filling" it by dragging the yellow dot, try "copying" it. Select the cell with the date, command-c to copy to clipboard, select the cells where you want to insert that date, and command-v or Edit > Paste and Match Style to paste.
SG
Instead of "filling" it by dragging the yellow dot, try "copying" it. Select the cell with the date, command-c to copy to clipboard, select the cells where you want to insert that date, and command-v or Edit > Paste and Match Style to paste.
SG
Hi Mario,
It is what it is. Dragging the yellow dot down on a single cell or Menu > Table > Autofill Cells will increment.
Copy, select the cells where you want to repeat (not increment) the copied value and Paste.
Done.
I find Fill Down (or Up, or Left or Right) very useful to increment values.
Numbers is very good at detecting a series, but it does need a hint:
Drag the yellow dot down:
Regards,
Ian.
Mario Milosevic wrote:
SG, Think of a database of expenses with many entries that have the same date. That would be a perfect place to be able to override incrementation.
For the date column just insert a formula that refers to the previous row (e.g. =A2 in cell A3) and fill that formula down. Numbers will then automatically enter the same date when you add a new row to the bottom of the table.
SG
Mario Milosevic wrote:
I was looking for a way to override this particular Numbers feature.
I find the incrementation-when-you-fill feature helpful, and have trouble imagining situations where I wouldn't want it, especially given that copy-paste is so accessible.
Copy-paste is even possible without hands leaving the keyboard. Select the cell, command-c, shift-command-downarrow, command-v.
SG
Thanks for the reply, SG. I am well aware of copy and paste! I was looking for a way to override this particular Numbers feature.
It would be nice, not just for dates but for any text that ends with a number. There are many times I'd like to fill down with the exact same text without it incrementing the number.
Absolutely, Badunit. There should be a simple way to override incrementation in particular circumstances.
SG, Think of a database of expenses with many entries that have the same date. That would be a perfect place to be able to override incrementation.
Thank you, Yellowbox. That is very helpful!
How can I keep the date from increasing when I copy it on the Numbers app?
