We use Excel for different purposes. Some people use it for their personal use, while some use it for office work.

If you are an office user, then you must have noticed that some sheets have alternate row colors. This color is not just there for the look of the sheet.

It’s there to help you check things better. For example, if you have two or three different regions on one sheet, then you can highlight alternate rows of each region to make it easier to check out.

This makes it really easy for you, right? But do you know how to add alternate color in excel? If you don’t know keep reading our guide that explains different ways to add colors.

Here I will discuss Excel alternate row color (how to apply)?

Using the “Format as Table” option

To apply conditional formatting to an entire spreadsheet, please fulfill the following step:

• Select the cell range, which you want to apply color-coding. Use Ctrl + A keyboard shortcut or click on F5 – H13 cells. The image shows how to do it.

• Under the Home tab, find the Styles group and then click on Format as Table. In addition, using the arrow buttons you can scroll through the different styles of table available to view them all. If you’ve picked a particular style, you will see your data displayed in rows with alternate colors to indicate which fields make up each of your columns. For example, if one column is for a name and another for an email address, you would apply a different color to each field so that it stands out perfectly from its respective background. You can see another example in the diagram below and the table style called “Colorful Grid”.

Color alternate row using “Conditional Formatting” option

To begin, navigate to where your spreadsheet is saved and click the file to open it. For this example, we’ll be using a brand-new spreadsheet that is white and blank.

You can choose to create a workbook from scratch or select an existing template for your needs.

Excel has quite a steep learning curve for new users, so unless you already know your way around this program you may want to consider trying one of the many different alternatives.

One such alternative like Google’s Sheets provides most of the functionality that Excel can but is considerably simpler and easier to use.

• In the Start menu, go to All Programs -> Microsoft Office -> Excel 2016 -> Create. In the new dialogue box, choose Blank Workbook or Current Workbook if you already have a Spreadsheet ready. Then go to the Formulas Tab. Fill in a name for your spreadsheet and press Save and close. Make a list of specific data that you wish to input into the new sheet. Press Ctrl + A on your keyboard or Tools –> Ungroup –> Ungroup until all cells are selected as can be told by pressing Ctrl + A again on your keyboard. In the Home tab under Styles group select Conditional Formatting and choose New Rule… from the dropdown menu options as shown below.

• You can quickly apply custom formatting to certain cell ranges in an Excel worksheet by selecting the Custom category in the Cells section of the Format Cells dialog box. To illustrate this window, click on Coloring Tab, select Cell Rules, On New Formatting Rule window choose to select Use a formula to determine which cells to format. In the “Format values where this formula is” input field type or copy/paste =MOD(ROW),2)=1. This will be the formula used when you press the OK button in the “Format Cells Dialog Box”. If you wish to color alternate columns instead of alternate rows, change ROW () by COLUMN () in the formula bar.
• On the Format Cells dialog box, click Fill and select Pattern. Enter a name for the pattern in the Name box, like “every-other-row”. Click each color square (like yellow or pink) to set cell colors to use with the pattern you want to create.

• After this, your outcome will appear on the screen like this.

FAQs Related to the Topic

What is a banded row?

When using Excel, the term “banded rows” refers to spreadsheet workbooks that contain multiple pages of information with alternating bands across pages.

This refers back to how Microsoft Excel applied background colors to every other row from top to bottom.

How do I paste every other cell?

In Excel, you can copy cell data down, up, or to the side by highlighting an area of cells. This is known as the “cell range”.

To copy data down select the top-left cell of your cell range, click CTRL+SHIFT+D to make a diagonal selection, or hold down the COPY button on your keyboard and drag downwards. An identical series of values will be posted below the initially selected value.

Conclusion

It is common practice to add color to alternate rows in an Excel spreadsheet in order to enhance readability and make the data easier to process.

The feature applies to Microsoft Excel 2007 or higher versions. One of the simplest yet most effective methods for improving data presentation in spreadsheets is by inserting alternating row colors.

To make it easier to read, alternate rows can be colored to help pointer the eyes. If you have to color every row one by one, your precious time will be consumed so you can use different options to apply colors in alternate rows.

Different methods have been explained to add colors in alternate rows. You can easily follow one of them to add colors.

I hope that you will understand the article regarding Excel alternate row color (how to apply).

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