Have you ever wanted to number a column in Excel? This tutorial will talk about some methods for numbering a column.
Auto Number A Column By Formula =ROW()
If you want to number the column based on the row numbers, you can type this formula =ROW() into a cell and press Enter key then drag the autofill handle to the cells you need to number.
Auto Number A Column By Formula =OFFSET(A2,-1,0)+1
If you want to auto number the column cells not based on the row number, you can type this formula =OFFSET(A2,-1,0)+1 into Cell A2 which you want to begin the number series from 1, and press Enter key then drag the autofill handle to cells you need.
Note:
1. With above formula to auto number a column, A2 is current cell’s address, and the cell above this cell must be blank or 0. For example, if you want to enter this formula into Cell K5, the formula should be modified to =OFFSET(K5,-1,0)+1, and the Cell K4 must be blank or 0.
2. If you remove one number from the number series, the below numbers will be start from 1 again.
Auto Number A Column By AutoFill Function
In Excel, AutoFill function also can help you to number a column.
Type 1 into a cell that you want to start the numbering, then drag the autofill handle at the right-down corner of the cell to the cells you want to number, and click the fill options to expand the option, and check Fill Series, then the cells are numbered. See screenshot.
Note: If you delete one number of the number series, the other numbers are kept.
