How can I increase succesive rows by alphabet rather than number?

J

Janus

I can easily create a column of numbers that increase in increments of 1
in each successive cell by adding 1 to the cell above. The first cell
is the only cell where I manually input a number. I want to set a
column so that I can input a letter, say E, in the top cell and the
cells below will fill in with F, G, H, etc. If this can be done, am I
limited to a maximum of 26 cells to match the number of letters in the
alphabet, or can I go into letters like AA, AB, AC, etc.
 
J

JE McGimpsey

One way:

Create a list with A to Z in A1:A26. Select the cells. Choose
Tools/Options/Custom lists. Click Import.

This will only give you 26 cells without repetition. You could make a 52
item list from A to AZ, etc.
 
L

L. Howard Kittle

Hi Janus

Perhaps by using this 3 ton formula I saved from Bernie Deitrick (12/22000).

=CHAR((A1-(A1-INT(A1/26)*26)-((A1-(A1-INT(A1/26)*26))/26-INT((A1-(A1-INT(A1/26)*26))/26/26)*26)*26)/26/26-INT((A1-(A1-INT(A1/26)*26)-((A1-(A1-INT(A1/26)*26))/26-INT((A1-(A1-INT(A1/26)*26))/26/26)*26)*26)/26/26/26)*26*26+97)&CHAR((A1-(A1-INT(A1/26)*26))/26-INT((A1-(A1-INT(A1/26)*26))/26/26)*26+97)&CHAR(A1-INT(A1/26)*26+97)

Copy - Paste in B1.
In C1 enter =RIGHT(B1,2)
In A1 enter a 0 (zero). B1 will show "aaa"
Select the three columns and pull down to no more than 677 rows.

Past that C column will begin to duplicate. If having 3 letters in your
lettering system is OK, then omit the C column and use the B column results.
ZZZ occurs at 17,576.

To get rid of the formulas do a copy and paste special values.

I can not answer ANY questions about this formula. I also made the mistake
of just printing it out instead of saving in Excel. Typing it back into
Excel was a virtual disaster. Hit enter and "... your formula is missing a
(..." 'bout 50 times it seemed! :)

A just as an aside, my initials LHK occur in row 7629.

HTH
Regards,
Howard
 
J

Janus

Thanks, Guys. I tried JE McGimpsey's method and it works quite well. I
just saved the master list in a separate workbook and can now easily
import it wherever needed.

Howard, I don't understand that 3 ton formula any better than you, but
rather than type it I pasted it in, followed the directions, and it
also works. Someone with more time than me worked that one up.

Janus
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Top