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How do I apply a formula to an entire column in Google Sheets?

Author

William Cox

Published Mar 09, 2026

How do I apply a formula to an entire column in Google Sheets?

Then press Ctrl+Shift+Enter, or Cmd+Shift+Enter on Mac, and Google Sheets will automatically surround your formula with ARRAYFORMULA function. Thus, we could apply the formula to the entire column of the spreadsheet with only a single cell. Array Formulas are more efficient as they process a batch of rows in one go.

Also know, how do I apply a rule to an entire column in Excel?

Dragging the AutoFill handle is the most common way to apply the same formula to an entire column or row in Excel. Firstly type the formula of =(A1*3+8)/5 in Cell C1, and then drag the AutoFill Handle down to the bottom in Column C, then the formula of =(A1*3+8)/5 is applied in the whole Column C.

One may also ask, how do I copy a formula to an entire column? Fill formulas into adjacent cells

  1. Select the cell with the formula and the adjacent cells you want to fill.
  2. Click Home > Fill, and choose either Down, Right, Up, or Left. Keyboard shortcut: You can also press Ctrl+D to fill the formula down in a column, or Ctrl+R to fill the formula to the right in a row.

Similarly, how do I do a Vlookup for previous column?

The VLOOKUP function only looks to the right. To look up a value in any column and return the corresponding value to the left, simply use INDEX and MATCH. 1. The MATCH function returns the position of a value in a given range.

How do I copy a formula in an entire column?

Set up your formula in the top cell, position the mouse in the lower right-hand corner of the cell until you see the plus, and double-click. Note that this option can copy the formula down as far as Excel finds data to the left. If you have row headers or other data in place, Excel continues to copy the formula.

How do I do a percentage formula in Google Sheets?

How to calculate percentage in Google Sheets
  1. Enter the below formula to D2: =C2/B2.
  2. Copy it down your table.
  3. Go to Format > Number > Percent in Google Sheets menu to apply the percentage view.

How do I apply the same formula to multiple cells in Excel?

Just select all the cells at the same time, then enter the formula normally as you would for the first cell. Then, when you're done, instead of pressing Enter, press Control + Enter. Excel will add the same formula to all cells in the selection, adjusting references as needed.

How do I copy a Vlookup formula across a column?

Excel: Copy a VLOOKUP Across Many Columns
  1. Press F4 three times when entering the lookup value. This will change A2 to $A2. The single dollar sign ensures the lookup will always reach back to column A for the lookup value.
  2. Press F4 once when entering the lookup table. This will change the lookup table to have four dollar signs, $P$4:$AB$227.

How do I apply a formula to an entire column except the first row?

If your list does not contain any blank cells, you can use the shortcut to select entire column but the first row. Select the header or the first row of your list and press Shift + Ctrl + ↓(the drop down button), then the list has been selected except the first row.

Can you Vlookup a whole row?

Vlookup and return whole / entire row data of a matched value with formula. Enter this formula: =VLOOKUP($F$2,$A$1:$D$12,COLUMN(A1),FALSE) into a blank cell where you want to get the result, for instance, H1, and then drag the formula to right ( from H2 to K2), and you will get the whole row data you want.

How do you copy and paste a Vlookup formula in Excel?

Just use the old good copy & paste way:
  1. Click the cell with the formula to select it.
  2. Press Ctrl + C to copy the formula.
  3. Select a cell or a range of cells where you want to paste the formula (to select non-adjacent ranges, press and hold the Ctrl key).
  4. Press Ctrl + V to paste the formula.

How do I do a Vlookup to compare two columns?

How to Compare Two Columns in Excel
  1. Click the Compare two columns worksheet tab in the VLOOKUP Advanced Sample file.
  2. Add columns in your workbook so you have space for results.
  3. Type the first VLOOKUP formula in cell E2:
  4. Click Enter on your keyboard and drag the VLOOKUP formula down through cell C17.

How do you copy a Vlookup without formula?

Just follow these steps.
  1. Select the cells or ranges you wish to copy.
  2. Select the “Home” tab.
  3. Select “Copy” in the “Clipboard section.
  4. Select the cell you wish to paste your values to.
  5. Select the lower half of the large “Paste” button. From the extended menu that appears, select “Values“.
  6. Select “OK“.

How do I drag a Vlookup formula in Excel?

Formula:
  1. Select cell C3 and click on it.
  2. Insert the formula: =VLOOKUP(B3,$E$3:$F$7,2,0)
  3. Press enter.
  4. Drag the formula down to the other cells in the column by clicking and dragging the little “+” icon at the bottom-right of the cell.

How do I apply conditional formatting to an entire column?

Five steps to apply conditional formatting across an entire row
  1. Highlight the data range you want to format.
  2. Choose Format > Conditional formatting… in the top menu.
  3. Choose “Custom formula is” rule.
  4. Enter your formula, using the $ sign to lock your column reference.

How do I conditional format an entire column?

Select Your Range Before You Begin
  1. Highlight all of the cells in the sheet to which you'll apply the formatting rules.
  2. Click Conditional Formatting.
  3. Select Highlight Cells Rules, then choose the rule that applies to your needs.
  4. Fill out the Less Than dialog box and choose a formatting style from the dropdown.

Does Vlookup have to use the first column?

One constraint of VLOOKUP is that it can only look for values on the left-most column in the table array. If your lookup value is not in the first column of the array, you will see the #N/A error.

Does Vlookup always have to be first column?

Remember that the lookup value should always be in the first column in the range for VLOOKUP to work correctly. For example, if your lookup value is in cell C2 then your range should start with C."

How do you do a Vlookup without first column?

We can use the CHOOSE function with the VLOOKUP function. In this example the formula is looking up a value in Lookup Column and gives a result in Results Column. The CHOOSE function references each column individually and then creates a two column range for the the VLOOKUP.

What is the difference between Vlookup and index match?

The key difference between INDEX MATCH and VLOOKUP is that VLOOKUP requires a static column reference while INDEX MATCH uses a dynamic column reference. With VLOOKUP, most people will input a specific, static number to indicate which column they want to return from.

What is the difference between Xlookup and Vlookup?

The range for the VLOOKUP includes the entire column, but the XLOOKUP splits the referenced ranges to a range to search and one to find the returned value. Also note that the XLOOKUP used one formula to return two values.

How do I select using Vlookup?

For the VLOOKUP function, the lookup value must be in the first column at the left of the lookup range. In this example, the CHOOSE function will combine columns in a different order, so a VLOOKUP formula can return a result from a column to the left of the lookup column.

Can Vlookup go left?

Notes. * There is a very creative way to have the VLOOKUP function go left, which is to use the CHOOSE function as the second argument. We think about the VLOOKUP function like this: go find this, comma, in here, comma, return this. When using the INDEX/MATCH combination, the thinking reverses.

Can you do a negative Vlookup?

Normally, the Vlookup function can help you to return the value in right columns. If your extracted data in left column, you may consider entering a negative column number within the formula: =Vlookup(F2,D2:D13,-3,0), but this will give an error result as following screenshot shown.

Can you do a backwards Vlookup?

Introduction. A key limitation of VLOOKUP is it can only lookup values to the right. In other words, the column with lookup values must be to the left of the values you want to retrieve with VLOOKUP. As a result, with standard configuration, there is no way to use VLOOKUP to "look left" and reverse the original lookup.

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