If someone was to tell you, do a 1;2;3;4;5;6;7;8;… series in Excel, there are many that would not hesitate and go for one of the two options

• Write 1 and 2 in the first two cells. Select both values, go to the bottom right corner and drag to wherever the heart desires.

• Write 1 in the first cell, select that cell, go to the bottom right corner and while dragging start pressing the Ctrl key. Again drag to the desired degree and first stop holding the mouse, then the Ctrl key.

Now if someone said to take this to 1;2;3;…;300000, the Home/Fill/Series… method would be used.

But how about if someone said do the following series: 1;2;4;8;16;32;… So a series always growing by the factor 2. Here’s a neat trick.

In the first two cells, you put 1 and 2. Select both cells and place a cursor in the bottom right corner of the two selected cells. Now you Right Click and hold the mouse button, drag to wherever you see fit and from the menu you get when you stop holding the mouse select Growth Trend.

And you get

Great little trick when you need it 🙂

If a longer such series would be required, again Home/Fill/Series… and selecting Growth as the  Series Type is the right way to go about it.