How can you quickly fill the cells below with the same value?

Using the fill handle is an efficient way to populate cells with the same value in Excel. When you double-click the fill handle, which is the small square at the bottom-right corner of the active cell, Excel automatically fills down the cells below with the value of that active cell until it encounters a blank cell. This method is especially useful when working with large datasets, as it saves time and reduces the possibility of errors that could occur with manual copying or dragging.

This approach is more efficient than manually copying and pasting, as it allows for a quick fill without the need for using the context menu or keyboard shortcuts. It can also be faster than selecting fill down from a right-click menu, especially in scenarios where you have a long column of cells to fill.

In contrast, dragging the fill handle would require more precision and could lead to an inadvertent error if you were to drag too far or not far enough. Hence, the double-click method stands out as the quickest and most effective option for filling multiple cells below with the same value.