XL97: Problems When AutoFilling Very Large Time Frames

• Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Excel 97, when you use the AutoFill feature to fill in a range of dates, some of the dates may appear incorrectly.

CAUSE

This will occur if you autofill a range of dates when the interval from the first date to the last date is greater than 32768 months, or approximately 2730 years.

WORKAROUND

If you need to autofill a range of dates, and the interval from the first date to the last date is greater than 2730 years, perform your AutoFill in two or more steps, with each step filling no more than 2730 years worth of dates.

For example, assume that you have a worksheet that contains the following dates

   A1: 2/2/2000
   A2: 2/2/2005

1. Select cells A1:A2.

2. Using the mouse, drag the fill handle located at the lower-right corner of cell A2 down to cell A500, and release the mouse button.

   Cell A500 shows the date 2/2/4495. This is less than 2730 years from the start date, 2/2/2000.

3. Select cells A499:A500.

4. Using the mouse, drag the fill handle located at the lower-right corner of cell A500 down to cell A601, and release the mouse button.

   Cell A601 shows the date 2/2/5000. This is less than 2730 years from the start date for this AutoFill, 2/2/4495.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

MORE INFORMATION

In Microsoft Excel 97, you can use dates that fall within the range January 1, 1900 to December 31, 9999. This is different from earlier versions of Microsoft Excel, which only allow dates from January 1, 1900 to December 31, 2078.