# Solved: Excel Selection highlight color



## Susancnw (May 6, 2009)

This is a reopening of another thread. I still have not found any answers that help. And we won't discuss the lack of support from MS.:down:

I am running Windows XP, Excel 2007. 

I have noticed the problem with extremely light shading in xp-excel. It makes things especially difficult when selecting multiple, remote cells or text using the 'ctrl' function, as you cannot see which section has been highlighted or not (note, many people do not understand the nature of the problem as when selecting one cell/group of cells there is a box around the selection, making it easier to visualise, however in selecting many cells, there are no boxes to assist). 

I work with spreadsheets constantly and need to highlight for deleting purposes and this is giving me headaches, etc. 

Thank you.


----------



## MRdNk (Apr 7, 2007)

Can you explain a little further, what you want/ the outcome to be. Row highlighter, Cell highlighter, change the brightness in Excel, or something else?


----------



## Susancnw (May 6, 2009)

In the particuarly spreadsheets that I work with, I have to highlight the duplications and delete them...several thousand lines that have to be done in sections, usually alphabetically. Anyway, the background is white. When I click on a line number at the left and scroll down a dozen lines or so...the lines highlighted are a baby blue...barely any darker than the background. VERY hard to see. I can turn off the office lights, close the blinds and they are still very hard to see, lead to headaches, eye strain, etc. And as I work with these things daily...I'm really fed up with it. Our IT dept doesn't have a solution, MS is no help so I am out searching.

It is the same color if I highlight a column to change or delete. If I click on a single cell to change, it bolds the area around it, but this does not help on larger amounts.

Better explanation?


----------



## WendyM (Jun 28, 2003)

Hi Susan, welcome to TSG.

I don't know of any way to change the selection color, but someone else might. I can think of a couple of workarounds in the meantime though:

The first is to select Ctrl+A to highlight the entire worksheet and change the background color of the cells. Then you can control+select your cells with greater contrast. Once you've finished deleting everything, you can select Ctrl+A again to return the backgrounds to white.

The other thing is that you can change the appearance of selected items for ALL programs. You can go to Start/Settings/Control Panel and select Display. Choose the Appearance tab and click the Advanced button. Then change the Item dropdown to Selected Items and choose the color you'd like. This will affect everything on your computer, so you may not like it, but you can always change it back if it doesn't work for you.

Hope that's helpful.


----------



## computerman29642 (Dec 4, 2007)

Susan,

Welcome to the forum. 

I know what you are referring to, but I don't believe you can change the highlighted background colour. That is a built in Excel feature and cannot be changed. If so then I missed hearing about it.

However, here is some code that may help you out.


```
Private Sub Worksheet_SelectionChange(ByVal Target As Range)

Cells.FormatConditions.Delete
Target.FormatConditions.Add Type:=xlExpression, Formula1:="TRUE"
Target.FormatConditions(1).Interior.ColorIndex = 24

End Sub
```


----------



## Susancnw (May 6, 2009)

Okay, like the first idea. I can Ctrl+A to select all of them, but how do I change the background? Excel 2007 is giving me fits. It has some great things in it that I really like, but the formatting is a pain.

And I can state unequivocably that the latter doesn't work.


----------



## Susancnw (May 6, 2009)

I was afraid that was an unchangeable default. What is it? Everyone at Microsoft now 20-somethings with lasik corrected eyesight??? ;D


----------



## Susancnw (May 6, 2009)

OH yeah, thanks for the kind welcome.


----------



## WendyM (Jun 28, 2003)

Hi Susan, 
I'm not working on Excel 2007 at the moment, but if there's a picture of a paint bucket on the toolbar, you can click the arrow next to it and change the background color. If not, you should be able to change the color by going to something like Format/Cells/Pattern and making the change.

And just as an FYI, I can state unequivocally that the latter does work, as it's currently happening in my Excel (and everything else, unfortunately).  But I'm using Windows XP, Excel 2002 currently, so perhaps it's different on 2007. 

Good luck!


----------



## Susancnw (May 6, 2009)

That's one of the differences, they removed that option from 2007...which is annoying ;D

That worked to change the background. Thanks. I swear my eyes AND brain are blown by all this...and annoyed. I KNOW how to do all that in 2002, but I've just had 2007 a short time...it's actually pretty good, but that is a glaring mistake in it, that's for sure. It's really contributing to headache and eye strain...I already have the lights off and the blinds closed in an attempt to see it easier. And yeah, I wear contacts but come on....

Griping done, it is very easy to work with the formulas now...I don't use that many of them, but when I deal with DOT projects, it comes in very handy.


----------



## slurpee55 (Oct 20, 2004)

Wendy, Zack tells me that 2007 has a built in duplicate finder. 
Susan, personally, I have always relied on ASAP's free add-in ( http://www.asap-utilities.com/ )for that same job - rather than highlight the cells, it selects them, and you can then highlight all the selected items whatever color you want.


----------



## Susancnw (May 6, 2009)

I'll have to try that. IT gets pissy if I download stuff so I'll probably have to beg on bended knee or send them candy...I will definitely look into it.


----------



## slurpee55 (Oct 20, 2004)

Also, Susan, did 2007 do away with the equivalent of Format, Style? That was one way to alter the sheet....


----------



## computerman29642 (Dec 4, 2007)

Slurpee, that could be a very handy tool. I might give the ASAP a try.


----------



## Susancnw (May 6, 2009)

Slurpee, they did sorta. It now has 7 tabs across the top

Home Insert Page Layout Formulas Data Review View

Under the Home tab, you have "styles' and it offers, conditional formatting, format as table and cell styles. And withing that, you can do a limited number of things...2002 was more customizable in that aspect. I've not used that much of it yet, I will have a bit more time this summer to play with it and see what I am missing and see what training I can find that will help.

As I said, it has some things that are much easier, I LOVE the formulas tab...but this highlighting is a disaster and when I google it, there are pages and pages and pages and pages and....of various versions of the question.


----------



## computerman29642 (Dec 4, 2007)

Susan,

Did you try the code in post #5?


----------



## slurpee55 (Oct 20, 2004)

computerman29642 said:


> Slurpee, that could be a very handy tool. I might give the ASAP a try.


I have used ASAP for years - it has a whole bunch of built in features - all just VBA procedures that you _could_ write, but for some, at least, why re-invent the wheel? :up:


----------



## computerman29642 (Dec 4, 2007)

slurpee55 said:


> I have used ASAP for years - it has a whole bunch of built in features - all just VBA procedures that you _could_ write, but for some, at least, why re-invent the wheel? :up:


I am definitely going to have to give ASAP a try.  :up:


----------



## slurpee55 (Oct 20, 2004)

Susan, read here:
http://spreadsheets.about.com/od/excel2007tips/qt/excel2007copyst.htm
and here:
http://spreadsheets.about.com/od/excel2007tips/qt/excel_template.htm


----------



## slurpee55 (Oct 20, 2004)

Susancnw said:


> I'll have to try that. IT gets pissy if I download stuff so I'll probably have to beg on bended knee or send them candy...I will definitely look into it.


I have been able to bypass my IT folks (ok, they know not to ask what I am doing) but this software is so good that other - less technical - users have asked me to put it on their PCs.


----------



## Susancnw (May 6, 2009)

Let's just say I have to walk softly...which I've never had to do with IT folks before...they are actually some of my favorite people...many of them enjoy teaching you and I like to learn the stuff so I am able to figure out things on my own and not pester them, but some of them are touchy. Let's put it this way, not allowed a CD drive on my tower.

I'm actually going to try the code on my system and home to make sure I know what I am doing ;D


----------



## slurpee55 (Oct 20, 2004)

Susancnw said:


> Let's just say I have to walk softly...which I've never had to do with IT folks before...they are actually some of my favorite people...many of them enjoy teaching you and I like to learn the stuff so I am able to figure out things on my own and not pester them, but some of them are touchy. Let's put it this way, not allowed a CD drive on my tower.
> 
> I'm actually going to try the code on my system and home to make sure I know what I am doing ;D


Well, my son runs a large IT dept. for a school system (nerdiness seems to be genetic) and the things that they don't allow are insane - very good security reasons for each one, but still....
Do try ASAP at home - if there is some task it does that you really like, I am sure the coders here can replicate it.  :up:


----------



## computerman29642 (Dec 4, 2007)

slurpee55 said:


> I have been able to bypass my IT folks (ok, they know not to ask what I am doing) but this software is so good that other - less technical - users have asked me to put it on their PCs.


That just proves what I thought all along, Slurpee is THE MAN!!!!!   :up:


----------



## computerman29642 (Dec 4, 2007)

Susancnw said:


> Let's just say I have to walk softly...which I've never had to do with IT folks before...they are actually some of my favorite people...many of them enjoy teaching you and I like to learn the stuff so I am able to figure out things on my own and not pester them, but some of them are touchy. Let's put it this way, not allowed a CD drive on my tower.
> 
> I'm actually going to try the code on my system and home to make sure I know what I am doing ;D


Susan, that sounds like a real good plan. :up:

This way you will have familiarized yourself with the product before bringing it to the attention of the IT dept.


----------



## Susancnw (May 6, 2009)

Like I said, I try really hard. When I worked at a high tech, I could be found at times down in IT (in my very few spare moments), asking about stuff. I honestly should have gone into computers in college when I decided I didn't want to teach. Why teach if you can't tell the chumps to sit down and shut up when they need it.


----------



## WendyM (Jun 28, 2003)

Susancnw said:


> I KNOW how to do all that in 2002, but I've just had 2007 a short time...


You're not alone in that! I have 2007 at home, and I'm always like "what? Where the heck is this thing I need now?" I'm sure I'll like it just fine as I work with it more, but it can be frustrating.



slurpee said:


> Wendy, Zack tells me that 2007 has a built in duplicate finder.


Oh, what does Zack know? Except everything.


----------



## slurpee55 (Oct 20, 2004)

Hey, I have it at home and have used it, uh, twice....
And I am afraid to find out what Zack knows....


----------

