Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Turning Off AutoFill for a Workbook.

Turning Off AutoFill for a Workbook

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated June 23, 2018)

The AutoFill feature of Excel can be a great timesaver when entering information. However, you may want to disable the feature for a particular workbook; perhaps you don't want the feature to be used by anyone using your workbook. Doing so is easy if you create a macro that can recognize when you are working with that particular workbook.

To turn off the AutoFill feature for a particular workbook, follow these steps:

  1. Open the workbook for which you want to disable the AutoFill feature. (It should be the only workbook you have open.)
  2. Press Alt+F11 to open the VBA editor.
  3. Using the Project window, select the ThisWorkbook object within the workbook you opened in step 1.
  4. Press F7. The Code window appears for the ThisWorkbook object.
  5. Within the Code window, enter the following two macros:
    6. Private Sub Workbook_Activate()
    Application.CellDragAndDrop = False
End Sub

    Private Sub Workbook_Deactivate()
    Application.CellDragAndDrop = True
End Sub
  6. Close the VBA editor.
  7. Save your workbook.

The first macro is only run when the particular workbook is activated. In other words, when the workbook attains focus or is selected. When a different workbook attains focus, then the second macro is executed.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the ExcelTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2594) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Turning Off AutoFill for a Workbook.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Limiting Searching to a Column

When you use Find and Replace, Excel normally looks through all the cells in a worksheet. You may want to limit the ...

Discover More

Identifying the Last Cell Changed in a Worksheet

When someone changes a cell in a worksheet, Excel normally goes along its merry way of keeping everything up to date. It ...

Discover More

Inserting a Multi-Page PDF File in a Word Document

Over the decades, Word has always had a rather tenuous relationship with PDF files. Echoes and evidences of this tenuous ...

Discover More

Solve Real Business Problems Master business modeling and analysis techniques with Excel and transform data into bottom-line results. This hands-on, scenario-focused guide shows you how to use the latest Excel tools to integrate data from multiple tables. Check out Microsoft Excel 2013 Data Analysis and Business Modeling today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Increasing Undo Levels

Each time you take some action in Excel, the action is saved in an "undo stack" so that the action can be undone, if ...

Discover More

Automatically Moving from Cell to Cell when Entering Data

As you enter data in a worksheet, you may want to have Excel automatically move from cell to cell based on the length of ...

Discover More

Picking a Contiguous Range of Cells

There are a variety of ways to pick a range of cells in Excel. Here are three of them you'll find useful.

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 2 + 4?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR AUTHORS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2020 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.