Enable/Disable AutoComplete in Excel
The steps for enabling or disabling AutoComplete in Microsoft Excel are different depending on the version you’re using:
In Excel 2019, 2016, 2013, and 2010
In Excel 2007
In Excel 2003
When You Should and Shouldn’t Use AutoComplete
AutoComplete is helpful when entering data into a worksheet that contains lots of duplicates. With AutoComplete on, when you start typing, it will auto-fill the rest of the information from the context around it, to speed up data entry. Say you’re entering the same name, address, or other information into multiple cells. Without AutoComplete, you’d have to retype the data or copy and paste it over and over, which wastes time. For example, if you typed “Mary Washington” in the first cell and then many other things in the following ones, like “George” and “Harry,” you can type “Mary Washington” again a lot faster by just typing “M” and then pressing Enter so that Excel will auto-type the full name. You can do this with any number of text entries in any cell in any series, meaning that you could then type “H” at the bottom to have Excel suggest “Harry,” and then type “M” again if you need to have that name auto-completed. There’s no need to copy or paste any data. However, AutoComplete isn’t always your friend. If you don’t need to duplicate anything, it will still auto-suggest it each time you start typing something that shares the same first letter as the previous data, which can often be more of a bother than a help.
