Fill non-contiguous blank cells with the value from the cell above the first blank

calendar_today Asked Sep 21, 2010
thumb_up 9 upvotes
history Updated April 14, 2026

Direct Answer

Select A1:A8. Press F5 to show the Goto dialog. Click Special ….. Select Blanks and click OK. That will select a noncontiguous range of blank cells. Then, without selecting…. This is a prose walkthrough, ranked #178th of 303 by community upvote score, from 2010.


The Problem (Q-score 5, ranked #178th of 303 in the Excel VBA archive)

The scenario as originally posted in 2010

I have a column like the following:

1 red
2 blue
3 red
4 
5 blue
6
7
8 white

The blanks refer to the record above it. So #4 would be associated with red
and 6 and 7 would be blue.

Is there an easy way to fill in the blanks for entire column?

Why community consensus is tight on this one

Across 303 Excel VBA entries in the archive, the accepted answer here holds niche answer (below median) status — meaning voters are unusually aligned on the right fix.


The Verified Solution — niche answer (below median) (+9)

Verbal answer — walkthrough without a code block

Note: the verified answer is a prose walkthrough. If you need a runnable sample, check Excel VBA entries ranked in the top 10 of the same archive.

  • Select A1:A8.
  • Press F5 to show the Goto dialog.
  • Click Special ….. Select Blanks and click OK.

That will select a noncontiguous range of blank cells.

  • Then, without selecting anything else, type =A3 and press +.
  • That will enter an array formula in all the blank cells referring to the cell above it.
  • Reselect A1:A8, and Edit – Copy.
  • Then Edit – Paste Special – Values. And you’re all set.

Note that the =A3 refers to the cell above the first blank cell.


When to Use It — vintage (14+ years old, pre-2013)

Ranked #178th in its category — specialized fit

This pattern sits in the 97% tail relative to the top answer. Reach for it when your scenario closely matches the question title; otherwise browse the Excel VBA archive for a higher-consensus alternative.

What changed between 2010 and 2026

The answer is 16 years old. The Excel VBA object model has been stable across Office 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 365, and 2024/2026 LTSC, so the pattern still compiles. Changes that might affect you: 64-bit API declarations (use PtrSafe), blocked macros in downloaded files (Mark-of-the-Web), and the shift toward Office Scripts for web-first workflows.

help
Frequently Asked Questions

This is a below-median answer — when does it still fit?
expand_more

Answer score +9 vs the Excel VBA archive median ~4; this entry is niche. The score plus 5 supporting upvotes on the question itself (+5) means the asker and 8 subsequent voters all validated the approach.

The answer has no code block — how do I turn it into a snippet?
expand_more

Use the walkthrough above as a checklist, then open a top-10 Excel VBA archive entry for a concrete starting template you can adapt.

This answer is 16 years old. Is it still relevant in 2026?
expand_more

Published 2010, which is 16 year(s) before today’s Office 2026 build. The Excel VBA object model has had no breaking changes in that window. Three things to re-test: (1) blocked macros on downloaded files (Mark-of-the-Web), (2) 64-bit API declarations (PtrSafe, LongPtr), (3) any shift toward Office Scripts for web scenarios.

Which Excel VBA pattern ranks just above this one at #177?
expand_more

The pattern one rank above is “Excel formula – auto sum for the same types”. If your use case overlaps, compare both before committing.

Data source: Community-verified Q&A snapshot. Q-score 5, Answer-score 9, original post 2010, ranked #178th of 303 in the Excel VBA archive. Last regenerated April 14, 2026.

excel