Insert a symbol, fraction, or special character

You can use the Symbol dialog box to insert symbols, such as ¼ and ©, or special characters, such as an em dash (—) or ellipsis (…) that are not on your keyboard, as well as Unicode (Unicode: A character encoding standard developed by the Unicode Consortium. By using more than one byte to represent each character, Unicode enables almost all of the written languages in the world to be represented by using a single character set.) characters.

The types of symbols and characters that you can insert depend on the font that you choose. For example, some fonts may include fractions (¼), international characters (ַ, כ), and international monetary symbols (£, ¥). The built-in Symbol font includes arrows, bullets, and scientific symbols. You might also have additional symbol fonts, such as Wingdings, that include decorative symbols.

 Note    You can increase or decrease the size of the Symbol dialog box by moving the pointer to the lower-right corner of the dialog box until it changes into a double-headed arrow, and then drag to the size that you want.

What do you want to do?

Insert a symbol, fraction, or special character

Insert a Unicode character

Insert a symbol, fraction, or special character

Which 2007 Microsoft Office system program are you using?

Excel

InfoPath

OneNote

PowerPoint

Publisher

Visio

Excel

1. Click where you want to insert the symbol.
2. On the Insert tab, in the Text group, click Symbol.
3. In the Symbol dialog box, click the Symbols tab, and then do one of the following:
   • Click the symbol that you want to insert.
   • If the symbol that you want to insert is not in the list, select a different font in the Font box, click the font that you want, and then click the symbol that you want to insert.

 Note    If you are using an expanded font, such as Arial or Times New Roman, the Subset list appears. Use this list to choose from an extended list of language characters, including Greek and Russian (Cyrillic), if available.

4. Click Insert.

Tip  To quickly find and insert a special character by its description, click the Special Characters tab in the Symbol dialog box, click the special character you want to insert, and then click Insert.

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InfoPath

1. Click where you want to insert the symbol.
2. On the Insert menu, click Symbol.
3. In the Symbol dialog box, click the Symbols tab, and then do one of the following:
   • Click the symbol that you want to insert.
   • If the symbol that you want to insert is not in the list, select a different font in the Font box, click the font that you want, and then click the symbol that you want to insert.

 Note    If you are using an expanded font, such as Arial or Times New Roman, the Subset list appears. Use this list to choose from an extended list of language characters, including Greek and Russian (Cyrillic), if available.

4. Click Insert.

Tip  To quickly find and insert a special character by its description, click the Special Characters tab in the Symbol dialog box, click the special character you want to insert, and then click Insert.

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OneNote

1. Click where you want to insert the symbol.
2. On the Insert menu, click Symbol.
3. In the Symbol dialog box, click the Symbols tab, and then do one of the following:
   • Click the symbol that you want to insert.
   • If the symbol that you want to insert is not in the list, select a different font in the Font box, click the font that you want, and then click the symbol that you want to insert.

 Note    If you are using an expanded font, such as Arial or Times New Roman, the Subset list appears. Use this list to choose from an extended list of language characters, including Greek and Russian (Cyrillic), if available.

4. Click Insert.

Tip  To quickly find and insert a special character by its description, click the Special Characters tab in the Symbol dialog box, click the special character you want to insert, and then click Insert.

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PowerPoint

1. Click where you want to insert the symbol.
2. On the Insert tab, in the Text group, click Symbol.
3. In the Symbol dialog box, click the Symbols tab, and then do one of the following:
   • Click the symbol that you want to insert.
   • If the symbol that you want to insert is not in the list, select a different font in the Font box, click the font that you want, and then click the symbol that you want to insert.

 Note    If you are using an expanded font, such as Arial or Times New Roman, the Subset list appears. Use this list to choose from an extended list of language characters, including Greek and Russian (Cyrillic), if available.

4. Click Insert.

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Publisher

1. Click where you want to insert the symbol.
2. On the Insert menu, click Symbol.
3. In the Symbol dialog box, click the Symbols tab, and then do one of the following:
   • Click the symbol that you want to insert.
   • If the symbol that you want to insert is not in the list, select a different font in the Font box, click the font that you want, and then click the symbol that you want to insert.

 Note    If you are using an expanded font, such as Arial or Times New Roman, the Subset list appears. Use this list to choose from an extended list of language characters, including Greek and Russian (Cyrillic), if available.

4. Click Insert.

Tip  To quickly find and insert a special character by its description, click the Special Characters tab in the Symbol dialog box, click the special character you want to insert, and then click Insert.

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Visio

1. Click where you want to insert the symbol.
2. On the Insert menu, click Symbol.
3. In the Symbol dialog box, click the Symbols tab, and then do one of the following:
   • Click the symbol that you want to insert.
   • If the symbol that you want to insert is not in the list, select a different font in the Font box, click the font that you want, and then click the symbol that you want to insert.

 Note    If you are using an expanded font, such as Arial or Times New Roman, the Subset list appears. Use this list to choose from an extended list of language characters, including Greek and Russian (Cyrillic), if available.

4. Click Insert.

Tip  To quickly find and insert a special character by its description, click the Special Characters tab in the Symbol dialog box, click the special character you want to insert, and then click Insert.

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Insert a Unicode character

Which 2007 Microsoft Office system program are you using?

Excel

InfoPath

OneNote

PowerPoint

Publisher

Visio

Excel

You can insert a Unicode character by selecting a character from the Symbol dialog box or by directly typing the character code.

Select a Unicode character from the Symbol dialog box

When you select a Unicode character in the Symbol dialog box, its character code appears in the Character code box.

1. Click where you want to insert the Unicode character.
2. On the Insert tab, in the Text group, click Symbol.
3. On the Symbols tab, in the Font box, click the font that you want.
4. In the from box, click Unicode (hex).
5. If the Subset box is available, click a character subset.
6. Click the symbol that you want to insert, and then click Insert.
7. Click Close.

Use the keyboard to insert a Unicode character code in a document

If you know the character code, you can enter the code in your document and then press ALT+X to convert it into a character. For example, press 002A and then press ALT+X to produce *. The reverse also works. To display the Unicode character code for a character that is already in your document, place the insertion point directly after the character and press ALT+X.

Find a Unicode character code

When you select a Unicode character in the Symbol dialog box, its character code appears in the Character code box.

1. On the Insert tab, in the Text group, click Symbol.
2. On the Symbols tab, in the Font box, click the font that you want.
3. In the from box, click Unicode (hex).
4. The Unicode character code is displayed in the Character code box.

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InfoPath

You can insert a Unicode character by selecting a character from the Symbol dialog box or by directly typing the character code.

Select a Unicode character from the Symbol dialog box

When you select a Unicode character in the Symbol dialog box, its character code appears in the Character code box.

1. Click where you want to insert the Unicode character.
2. On the Insert menu, click Symbol.
3. On the Symbols tab, in the Font box, click the font that you want.
4. In the from box, click Unicode (hex).
5. If the Subset box is available, click a character subset.
6. Click the symbol that you want to insert, and then click Insert.
7. Click Close.

Use the keyboard to insert a Unicode character code in a document

If you know the character code, you can enter the code in your document and then press ALT+X to convert it into a character. For example, press 002A and then press ALT+X to produce *. The reverse also works. To display the Unicode character code for a character that is already in your document, place the insertion point directly after the character and press ALT+X.

Find a Unicode character code

When you select a Unicode character in the Symbol dialog box, its character code appears in the Character code box.

1. On the Insert menu, click Symbol.
2. On the Symbols tab, in the Font box, click the font that you want.
3. In the from box, click Unicode (hex).
4. The Unicode character code is displayed in the Character code box.

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OneNote

You can insert a Unicode character by selecting a character from the Symbol dialog box or by directly typing the character code.

Select a Unicode character from the Symbol dialog box

When you select a Unicode character in the Symbol dialog box, its character code appears in the Character code box.

1. Click where you want to insert the Unicode character.
2. On the Insert menu, click Symbol.
3. On the Symbols tab, in the Font box, click the font that you want.
4. In the from box, click Unicode (hex).
5. If the Subset box is available, click a character subset.
6. Click the symbol that you want to insert, and then click Insert.
7. Click Close.

Use the keyboard to insert a Unicode character code in a document

If you know the character code, you can enter the code in your document and then press ALT+X to convert it into a character. For example, press 002A and then press ALT+X to produce *. The reverse also works. To display the Unicode character code for a character that is already in your document, place the insertion point directly after the character and press ALT+X.

Find a Unicode character code

When you select a Unicode character in the Symbol dialog box, its character code appears in the Character code box.

1. On the Insert menu, click Symbol.
2. On the Symbols tab, in the Font box, click the font that you want.
3. In the from box, click Unicode (hex).
4. The Unicode character code is displayed in the Character code box.

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PowerPoint

You can insert a Unicode character by selecting a character from the Symbol dialog box or by directly typing the character code.

Select a Unicode character from the Symbol dialog box

When you select a Unicode character in the Symbol dialog box, its character code appears in the Character code box.

1. Click where you want to insert the Unicode character.
2. On the Insert tab, in the Text group, click Symbol.
3. On the Symbols tab, in the Font box, click the font that you want.
4. In the from box, click Unicode (hex).
5. If the Subset box is available, click a character subset.
6. Click the symbol that you want to insert, and then click Insert.
7. Click Close.

Use the keyboard to insert a Unicode character code in a document

If you know the character code, you can enter the code in your document and then press ALT+X to convert it into a character. For example, press 002A and then press ALT+X to produce *. The reverse also works. To display the Unicode character code for a character that is already in your document, place the insertion point directly after the character and press ALT+X.

Find a Unicode character code

When you select a Unicode character in the Symbol dialog box, its character code appears in the Character code box.

1. On the Insert tab, in the Text group, click Symbol.
2. On the Symbols tab, in the Font box, click the font that you want.
3. In the from box, click Unicode (hex).
4. The Unicode character code is displayed in the Character code box.

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Publisher

You can insert a Unicode character by selecting a character from the Symbol dialog box or by directly typing the character code.

Select a Unicode character from the Symbol dialog box

When you select a Unicode character in the Symbol dialog box, its character code appears in the Character code box.

1. Click where you want to insert the Unicode character.
2. On the Insert menu, click Symbol.
3. On the Symbols tab, in the Font box, click the font that you want.
4. In the from box, click Unicode (hex).
5. If the Subset box is available, click a character subset.
6. Click the symbol that you want to insert, and then click Insert.
7. Click Close.

Use the keyboard to insert a Unicode character code in a document

If you know the character code, you can enter the code in your document and then press ALT+X to convert it into a character. For example, press 002A and then press ALT+X to produce *. The reverse also works. To display the Unicode character code for a character that is already in your document, place the insertion point directly after the character and press ALT+X.

Find a Unicode character code

When you select a Unicode character in the Symbol dialog box, its character code appears in the Character code box.

1. On the Insert menu, click Symbol.
2. On the Symbols tab, in the Font box, click the font that you want.
3. In the from box, click Unicode (hex).
4. The Unicode character code is displayed in the Character code box.

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Visio

You can insert a Unicode character by selecting a character from the Symbol dialog box or by directly typing the character code.

Select a Unicode character from the Symbol dialog box

When you select a Unicode character in the Symbol dialog box, its character code appears in the Character code box.

1. Click where you want to insert the Unicode character.
2. On the Insert menu, click Symbol.
3. On the Symbols tab, in the Font box, click the font that you want.
4. In the from box, click Unicode (hex).
5. If the Subset box is available, click a character subset.
6. Click the symbol that you want to insert, and then click Insert.
7. Click Close.

Use the keyboard to insert a Unicode character code in a document

If you know the character code, you can enter the code in your document and then press ALT+X to convert it into a character. For example, press 002A and then press ALT+X to produce *. The reverse also works. To display the Unicode character code for a character that is already in your document, place the insertion point directly after the character and press ALT+X.

Find a Unicode character code

When you select a Unicode character in the Symbol dialog box, its character code appears in the Character code box.

1. On the Insert menu, click Symbol.
2. On the Symbols tab, in the Font box, click the font that you want.
3. In the from box, click Unicode (hex).
4. The Unicode character code is displayed in the Character code box.

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Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Apply or remove cell shading

You can add shading to cells by filling them with solid colors or specific patterns. If you have trouble printing the cell shading that you applied in color, verify that print options are set correctly.

You can remove cell shading if you no longer need it.

What do you want to do?

Fill cells with solid colors

Fill cells with patterns

Verify print options to print cell shading in color

Remove cell shading

Fill cells with solid colors

1. Select the cells that you want to apply shading to or remove shading from.

How to select cells, ranges, rows, or columns

2. On the Home tab, in the Font group, do one of the following:
   • To fill cells with a solid color, click the arrow next to Fill Color in the Font group on the Home tab, and then click the color on the palette that you want.
   • To apply the most recently selected color, click Fill Color .

Tip  If you want to use a different background color for the whole worksheet, click the Select All button before you click the color that you want to use. This will hide the gridlines, but you can improve worksheet readability by displaying cell borders around all cells.

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Fill cells with patterns

1. Select the cells that you want to fill with a pattern.

How to select cells, ranges, rows, or columns

2. On the Home tab, in the Font group, click the Dialog Box Launcher next to Font.

Keyboard shortcut  You can also press CTRL+SHIFT+F.

3. In the Format Cells dialog box, on the Fill tab, under Background Color, click the background color that you want to use.
4. Do one of the following:
   • To use a pattern with two colors, click another color in the Pattern Color box, and then click a pattern style in the Pattern Style box.
   • To use a pattern with special effects, click Fill Effects, and then click the options that you want on the Gradient tab.

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Verify print options to print cell shading in color

If print options are set to Black and white or Draft quality — either on purpose, or because the workbook contains large or complex worksheets and charts that caused draft mode to be turned on automatically — cell shading cannot print in color.

1. On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, click the Dialog Box Launcher next to Page Setup.

2. In the Page Layout dialog box, on the Sheet tab, under Print, make sure that the Black and white and Draft quality check boxes are cleared.

 Note    If you do not see colors in the worksheet, it may be that you are working in high contrast mode. If you do not see colors when you preview before you print, it may be that you do not have a color printer selected.

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Remove cell shading

1. Select the cells that contain a fill color or fill pattern.

How to select cells, ranges, rows, or columns

2. On the Home tab, in the Font group, click the arrow next to Fill Color, and then click No Fill.

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See Also

• Add, change, or clear conditional formats
• Apply or remove cell borders on a worksheet
• Apply shading to alternate rows in a worksheet
• Apply, create, or remove a cell style
• Change the color of text
• Ways to format a worksheet

Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Add formatting to your document by using the Mini toolbar

When you select text, you can show or hide a handy, miniature, semitransparent toolbar called the Mini toolbar. The Mini toolbar helps you work with fonts, font styles, font sizing, alignment, text color, indent levels, and bullet features.

 Note    You cannot customize the Mini toolbar.

The following shows how the semitransparent toolbar looks when you select text on a slide or in a shape in Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007.

The following shows the Mini toolbar when you rest your pointer on it. To use the toolbar, click any of the available commands.

Turn off the Mini toolbar

Which 2007 Microsoft Office system program are you using?

Excel

Outlook

PowerPoint

Word

Excel

1. Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then click Excel Options.
2. Click Popular, and then under Top options for working with Excel, clear the Show Mini Toolbar on selection check box.

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Outlook

1. Open a new message.
2. Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then click Editor Options.
3. Under Working with Outlook and other Microsoft Office programs, clear the Show Mini Toolbar on selection check box.

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PowerPoint

1. Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then click PowerPoint Options.
2. Click Popular, and then under Top options for working with PowerPoint, clear the Show Mini Toolbar on selection check box.

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Word

1. Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then click Word Options.
2. Click Popular, and then under Top options for working with Word, clear the Show Mini Toolbar on selection check box.

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Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Guidelines for organizing and formatting data on a worksheet

Microsoft Office Excel has a number of features that make it easy to manage and analyze data. To take full advantage of these features, it is important that you organize and format data in a worksheet (worksheet: The primary document that you use in Excel to store and work with data. Also called a spreadsheet. A worksheet consists of cells that are organized into columns and rows; a worksheet is always stored in a workbook.) according to the following guidelines.

In this article

Data organization guidelines

Data format guidelines

Data organization guidelines

Put similar items in the same column  Design the data so that all rows have similar items in the same column.

Keep a range of data separate  Leave at least one blank column and one blank row between a related data range and other data on the worksheet. Excel can then more easily detect and select the range when you sort, filter, or insert automatic subtotals.

Position critical data above or below the range  Avoid placing critical data to the left or right of the range because the data might be hidden when you filter the range.

Avoid blank rows and columns in a range  Avoid putting blank rows and columns within a range of data. Do this to ensure that Excel can more easily detect and select the related data range.

Display all rows and columns in a range  Make sure that any hidden rows or columns are displayed before you make changes to a range of data. When rows and columns in a range are not displayed, data can be deleted inadvertently. For more information, see Hide or display rows and columns.

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Data format guidelines

Use column labels to identify data  Create column labels in the first row of the range of data by applying a different format to the data. Excel can then use these labels to create reports and to find and organize data. Use a font, alignment, format, pattern, border, or capitalization style for column labels that is different from the format that you assign to the data in the range. Format the cells as text before you type the column labels. For more information, see Ways to format a worksheet.

Use cell borders to distinguish data  When you want to separate labels from data, use cell borders — not blank rows or dashed lines — to insert lines below the labels. For more information, see Apply or remove cell borders on a worksheet.

Avoid leading or trailing spaces to avoid errors  Avoid inserting spaces at the beginning or end of a cell to indent data. These extra spaces can affect sorting, searching, and the format that is applied to a cell. Instead of typing spaces to indent data, you can use the Increase Indent command within the cell. For more information, see Reposition the data in a cell.

Extend data formats and formulas  When you add new rows of data to the end of a data range, Excel extends consistent formatting and formulas. Three of the five preceding cells must use the same format for that format to be extended. All of the preceding formulas must be consistent for a formula to be extended. For more information, see Fill data automatically in worksheet cells.

Use an Excel table format to work with related data  You can turn a contiguous range of cells on your worksheet into an Excel table. Data that is defined by the table can be manipulated independently of data outside of the table, and you can use specific table features to quickly sort, filter, total, or calculate the data in the table. You can also use the table feature to compartmentalize sets of related data by organizing that data in multiple tables on a single worksheet. For more information, see Overview of Excel tables.

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Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Align or center text

What do you want to do?

Align text to the left

Align text to the right

Center text

Align text to the left

Which 2007 Microsoft Office system program are you using?

Access

Excel

InfoPath

Outlook

PowerPoint

Project

Publisher

Access

1. Select the text that you want to format.
2. On the Home tab, in the Font group, click Align Left.

Keyboard shortcut  To align selected text to the left, press CTRL+L.

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Excel

1. Select the text that you want to format.
2. On the Home tab, in the Alignment group, click Align Left.

Keyboard shortcut  To align selected text to the left, press CTRL+L.

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InfoPath

1. Select the text that you want to format.
2. On the Formatting toolbar, click Align Left .

Keyboard shortcut  To align selected text to the left, press CTRL+L.

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Outlook

1. Select the text that you want to format.
2. On the Home tab, in the Basic Text group, click Align Left.

Keyboard shortcut  To align selected text to the left, press CTRL+L.

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PowerPoint

1. Select the text that you want to format.
2. On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click Align Left.

Keyboard shortcut  To align selected text to the left, press CTRL+L.

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Project

1. Select the text that you want to format.
2. On the Formatting toolbar, click Align Left .

Keyboard shortcut  To align selected text to the left, press CTRL+L.

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Publisher

1. Select the text that you want to format.
2. On the Formatting toolbar, click Align Left .

Keyboard shortcut  To align selected text to the left, press CTRL+L.

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Align text to the right

Which 2007 Microsoft Office system program are you using?

Access

Excel

InfoPath

Outlook

PowerPoint

Project

Publisher

Access

1. Select the text that you want to format.
2. On the Home tab, in the Font group, click Align Right.

Keyboard shortcut  To align selected text to the right, press CTRL+R.

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Excel

1. Select the text that you want to format.
2. On the Home tab, in the Alignment group, click Align Right.

Keyboard shortcut  To align selected text to the right, press CTRL+R.

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InfoPath

1. Select the text that you want to format.
2. On the Formatting toolbar, click Align Right .

Keyboard shortcut  To align selected text to the right, press CTRL+R.

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Outlook

1. Select the text that you want to format.
2. On the Home tab, in the Basic Text group, click Align Right.

Keyboard shortcut  To align selected text to the right, press CTRL+R.

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PowerPoint

1. Select the text that you want to format.
2. On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click Align Right.

Keyboard shortcut  To align selected text to the right, press CTRL+R.

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Project

1. Select the text that you want to format.
2. On the Formatting toolbar, click Align Right .

Keyboard shortcut  To align selected text to the right, press CTRL+R.

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Publisher

1. Select the text that you want to format.
2. On the Formatting toolbar, click Align Right .

Keyboard shortcut  To align selected text to the right, press CTRL+R.

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Center text

Which 2007 Microsoft Office system program are you using?

Access

Excel

InfoPath

Outlook

PowerPoint

Project

Publisher

Access

1. Select the text that you want to format.
2. On the Home tab, in the Font group, click Center.

Keyboard shortcut  To center selected text, press CTRL+E.

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Excel

1. Select the text that you want to format.
2. On the Home tab, in the Alignment group, click Center.

Keyboard shortcut  To center selected text, press CTRL+E.

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InfoPath

1. Select the text that you want to format.
2. On the Formatting toolbar, click Center .

Keyboard shortcut  To center selected text, press CTRL+E.

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Outlook

1. Select the text that you want to format.
2. On the Home tab, in the Basic Text group, click Center.

Keyboard shortcut  To center selected text, press CTRL+E.

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PowerPoint

1. Select the text that you want to format.
2. On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click Center.

Keyboard shortcut  To center selected text, press CTRL+E.

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Project

1. Select the text that you want to format.
2. On the Formatting toolbar, click Center .

Keyboard shortcut  To center selected text, press CTRL+E.

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Publisher

1. Select the text that you want to format.
2. On the Formatting toolbar, click Center .

Keyboard shortcut  To center selected text, press CTRL+E.

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Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Underline data on a worksheet

There are several ways to add underlining to data on a worksheet (worksheet: The primary document that you use in Excel to store and work with data. Also called a spreadsheet. A worksheet consists of cells that are organized into columns and rows; a worksheet is always stored in a workbook.). You can underline all or selected text in cells, apply a bottom border to cells or rows, or draw a line to underline cells.

What do you want to do?

Underline all or selected cell contents

Use a bottom border to underline entire cells or rows

Draw a line to underline cells

Underline all or selected cell contents

1. Do one of the following:
   • To underline all text or numbers in a cell or range (range: Two or more cells on a sheet. The cells in a range can be adjacent or nonadjacent.) of cells, select that cell or range of cells.

How to select a cell or range

• To underline just a portion of the contents in a cell, double-click that cell, and then select the text or numbers that you want to underline.

 Note    If editing in a cell is turned on, you can select the cell contents by double-clicking the cell. If editing in a cell is turned off, you can click the cell and then select the text or numbers that you want to underline in the formula bar (formula bar: A bar at the top of the Excel window that you use to enter or edit values or formulas in cells or charts. Displays the constant value or formula stored in the active cell.). You can also press F2 to edit the active cell, use the arrow keys to place the insertion point, and then use SHIFT+arrow keys to select the contents.

2. On the Home tab, in the Font group, do one of the following:
   • To apply a single underline, click Underline .
   • To apply a different style of underline, such as a double underline or a single or double accounting underline (an underline that fills the width of a cell), click the Dialog Box Launcher next to Font and then, in the Underline box, click the style that you want to use.

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Use a bottom border to underline entire cells or rows

1. Select the cell, range (range: Two or more cells on a sheet. The cells in a range can be adjacent or nonadjacent.) of cells, or rows that you want to underline.

How to select a cell or range

2. On the Home tab, in the Font group, click the arrow next to Bottom Border , and then click a bottom border style on the palette.

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Draw a line to underline cells

1. On the Insert tab, in the Illustrations group, click Shapes.

2. Under Lines, click .
3. Drag to draw a line underneath the cells that you want to underline.

Tip  To draw a perfectly straight line, hold down SHIFT while you drag to draw the line.

4. To change the formatting of the line, click the line to select it.

This displays the Drawing Tools, adding the Format tab.

5. On the Format tab, in the Shape Styles group, select the formatting options that you want.

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See Also

• Apply, create, or remove a cell style

Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Apply shading to alternate rows in a worksheet

This article shows you how to automatically apply shading to every other row in a worksheet. You can apply the shading by using a simple conditional formatting formula. Alternatively, you can apply a predefined Excel table style to your data.

In this article

Technique 1: Apply shading to alternate rows by using conditional formatting

Technique 2: Apply shading to alternate rows by using an Excel table style

Technique 1: Apply shading to alternate rows by using conditional formatting

One way to apply shading to alternate rows in your worksheet is by creating a conditional formatting rule. This rule uses a formula to determine whether a row is even or odd numbered, and then applies the shading accordingly. The formula is shown here:

=MOD(ROW(),2)=0

1. On the worksheet, do one of the following:
   • To apply the shading to a specific range of cells, select the cells you want to format.
   • To apply the shading to the entire worksheet, click the Select All button.

2. On the Home tab, in the Styles group, click the arrow next to Conditional Formatting, and then click New Rule.

3. In the New Formatting Rule dialog box, under Select a Rule Type, click Use a formula to determine which cells to format.
4. In the Format values where this formula is true box, enter =MOD(ROW(),2)=0, as shown in the following illustration.

 Note    If you want to apply shading to alternate columns instead of alternate rows, enter =MOD(COLUMN(),2)=0 instead.

5. Click Format.
6. In the Format Cells dialog box, click the Fill tab.
7. Select the background or pattern color that you want to use for the shaded rows, and then click OK.

At this point, the color you just selected should appear in the Preview window in the New Formatting Rule dialog box.

8. To apply the formatting to the cells on your worksheet, click OK

 Note    To view or edit the conditional formatting rule, on the Home tab, in the Styles group, click the arrow next to Conditional Formatting, and then click Manage Rules.

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Technique 2: Apply shading to alternate rows by using an Excel table style

Another way to quickly add shading or banding to alternate rows is by applying a predefined Excel table style. This is useful when you want to format a specific range of cells, and you want the additional benefits that you get with a table, such the ability to quickly display total rows or header rows in which filter drop-down lists automatically appear.

By default, banding is applied to the rows in a table to make the data easier to read. The automatic banding continues if you add or delete rows in the table.

If you find you want the table style without the table functionality, you can convert the table to a regular range of data. If you do this, however, you won't get the automatic banding as you add more data to your range.

1. On the worksheet, select the range of cells that you want to format.
2. On the Home tab, in the Styles group, click Format as Table.

3. Under Light, Medium, or Dark, click the table style that you want to use.

Tip  Custom table styles are available under Custom after you create one or more of them. For information about how to create a custom table style, see Format an Excel table.

4. In the Format as Table dialog box, click OK.

Notice that the Banded Rows check box is selected by default in the Table Style Options group.

If you want to apply shading to alternate columns instead of alternate rows, you can clear this check box and select Banded Columns instead.

5. If you want to convert the Excel table back to a regular range of cells, click anywhere in the table to display the tools necessary for converting the table back to a range of data.
6. On the Design tab, in the Tools group, click Convert to Range.

Tip  You can also right-click the table, click Table, and then click Convert to Range.

 Note    In previous versions of Excel, you could shade alternate rows by using the AutoFormat button. This button isn't available on the Ribbon in Excel 2007. However, if you like, you can add it to your Quick Access Toolbar, which appears by default above the Ribbon. For information about how to do this, see Customize the Quick Access Toolbar.

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See Also

• Add, change, or clear conditional formats
• Apply or remove cell borders on a worksheet
• Apply or remove cell shading
• Overview of Excel tables

Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Turn on or off overtype mode

When you are editing text in overtype mode, typing new characters replaces any existing characters to the right side of the insertion point.

Which 2007 Microsoft Office system program are you using?

Access

Excel

Outlook

Project

Word

Access

• Click the cell in which you want to overtype text, and then press INSERT or INS to turn on or off overtype mode.

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Excel

• Double-click the cell in which you want to overtype text, and then press INSERT or INS to turn on or off the overtype mode.

 Note    The Allow editing directly in cells check box must be selected (it is selected by default). To select or clear this check box, click the Microsoft Office Button , then click Excel Options, and then click Advanced. The check box is under the Editing options section.

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Outlook

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. In the Options dialog box, click the Mail Format tab.
3. Under Editor options, click Editor Options.
4. In the Editor Options dialog box, click Advanced.
5. Under Editing Options, select or clear the Use overtype mode check box.

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Project

1. Select the cell in which you want to overtype text, and then press F2.
2. Press INSERT or INS to turn on or off overtype mode.

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Word

1. Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then click Word Options.
2. Click Advanced.
3. Under Editing options, select or clear the Use overtype mode check box.

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Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Apply, create, or remove a cell style

To apply several formats in one step, and to make sure that cells have consistent formatting, you can use a cell style. A cell style is a defined set of formatting characteristics, such as fonts (font: A graphic design applied to all numerals, symbols, and alphabetic characters. Also called type or typeface. Arial and Courier New are examples of fonts. Fonts usually come in different sizes, such as 10 point, and various styles, such as bold.) and font sizes, number formats, cell borders, and cell shading. To prevent anyone from making changes to specific cells, you can also use a cell style that locks cells.

Microsoft Office Excel has several built-in cell styles that you can apply or modify. You can also modify or duplicate a cell style to create your own, custom cell style.

Important  Cell styles are based on the document theme that is applied to the whole workbook. When you switch to another document theme, the cell styles are updated to match the new document theme.

What do you want to do?

Apply a cell style

Create a custom cell style

Create a cell style by modifying an existing cell style

Remove a cell style from data

Delete a predefined or custom cell style

Apply a cell style

1. Select the cells that you want to format.

How to select cells, ranges, rows, or columns

2. On the Home tab, in the Styles group, click Cell Styles.

Tip  If you do not see the Cell Styles button, click Styles, and then click the More button next to the cell styles box.

3. Click the cell style that you want to apply.

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Create a custom cell style

1. On the Home tab, in the Styles group, click Cell Styles.

Tip  If you do not see the Cell Styles button, click Styles, and then click the More button next to the cell styles box.

2. Click New Cell Style.
3. In the Style name box, type an appropriate name for the new cell style.
4. Click Format.
5. On the various tabs in the Format Cells dialog box, select the formatting that you want, and then click OK.
6. In the Style dialog box, under Style Includes (By Example), clear the check boxes for any formatting that you do not want to include in the cell style.

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Create a cell style by modifying an existing cell style

1. On the Home tab, in the Styles group, click Cell Styles.

Tip  If you do not see the Cell Styles button, click Styles, and then click the More button next to the cell styles box.

2. Do one of the following:
   • To modify an existing cell style, right-click that cell style, and then click Modify.
   • To create a duplicate of an existing cell style, right-click that cell style, and then click Duplicate.
3. In the Style name box, type an appropriate name for the new cell style.

 Note    A duplicate cell style and a renamed cell style are added to the list of custom cell styles. If you do not rename a built-in cell style, the built-in cell style will be updated with any changes that you make.

4. To modify the cell style, click Format.
5. On the various tabs in the Format Cells dialog box, select the formatting that you want, and then click OK.
6. In the Style dialog box, under Style Includes, select or clear the check boxes for any formatting that you do or do not want to include in the cell style.

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Remove a cell style from data

You can remove a cell style from data in selected cells without deleting the cell style.

1. Select the cells that are formatted with the cell style that you want to remove.

How to select cells, ranges, rows, or columns

2. On the Home tab, in the Styles group, click Cell Styles.

Tip  If you do not see the Cell Styles button, click Styles, and then click the More button next to the cell styles box.

3. Under Good, Bad, and Neutral, click Normal.

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Delete a predefined or custom cell style

You can delete a predefined or custom cell style to remove it from the list of available cell styles. When you delete a cell style, it is also removed from all cells that are formatted with it.

1. On the Home tab, in the Styles group, click Cell Styles.

Tip  If you do not see the Cell Styles button, click Styles, and then click the More button next to the cell styles box.

2. To delete a predefined or custom cell style and remove it from all cells that are formatted with it, right-click the cell style, and then click Delete.

 Note    You cannot delete the Normal cell style.

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See Also

• Add, change, or clear conditional formats
• Apply, customize, and save a document theme in Word or Excel
• Copy cell styles from another workbook
• Office Excel 2007 features that are not supported in earlier versions of Excel

Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

ASCII character chart

Numbers are the language of computers. To communicate with programs (and with other computers), your computer converts characters and symbols into their numeric representations.

In the 1960s, a need for standardization led to American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) (pronounced ask-kee). The ASCII chart contains 128 numbers assigned to corresponding characters. ASCII provides a way that computers can store and exchange data with other computers and programs.

ASCII-formatted text contains no formatting information such as bold, italic, or fonts. When you use Microsoft Notepad or save a file as plain text in Microsoft Office Word, ASCII is used. You might have read an advertisement for a job opening where the employer asked for resumes in ASCII format. This means whether you send your resume in an e-mail message, fax, or as a printed copy, the employer wants your resume to contain no special style formatting. ASCII-formatted text works well with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) scanning software, which large companies frequently use to scan resumes.

In this article

Insert an ASCII character into a document

ASCII printing characters

Extended ASCII printing characters

ASCII non-printing control characters

Beyond ASCII

Insert an ASCII character into a document

In addition to typing a character on your keyboard, you can also use the character code of the symbol as a shortcut, or when a symbol isn't available on the keyboard you are using.

• To insert an ASCII character from the charts below, press and hold down ALT while typing the decimal numeric equivalent.

For example, to insert the degree (÷) symbol, press and hold down ALT while typing 0176 on the numeric keypad.

 Note    You must use the numeric keypad to type the numbers and not the keyboard. Make sure that the NUM LOCK key is on if your keyboard requires it to type numbers on the numeric keypad.

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ASCII printing characters

Numbers 32–126 are assigned to characters that you would find on your keyboard and appear when you view or print a document. Number 127 represents the DELETE command.

ASCII printing characters chart

Tip  You can reference the extended character set for a particular font using the Character Map program in Microsoft Windows. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Character Map.

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Extended ASCII printing characters

Extended ASCII characters meet the demand for more characters. Extended ASCII includes the 128 characters found in ASCII (numbers 0–32 appear in a following chart), and adds an additional 128 characters for 256 total. Even with these additional characters, many languages contain symbols that could not be condensed into 256 characters. Because of this, there are variants of ASCII to encompass regional characters and symbols.

For example, the ASCII table also known as ISO 8859-1 is used by many software programs for languages in North America, Western Europe, Australia, and Africa.

Extended ASCII printing characters chart

Tip  You can reference the extended character set for a particular font using the Character Map program in Microsoft Windows. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Character Map.

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ASCII non-printing control characters

Numbers 0–31 on the ASCII table are assigned for control characters that are used to control some peripheral devices such as printers. For example, 12 represents the form feed/new page function. This command instructs a printer to skip to the top of the next page.

ASCII non-printing control characters chart

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Beyond ASCII

Another, newer table of characters is called Unicode. Because Unicode is a much larger table, it can represent 65,536 characters instead of the 128 of ASCII or 256 of extended ASCII. This larger capacity allows most characters of different languages to be included in one character set.

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Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Apply, customize, and save a document theme in Word or Excel

You can quickly and easily format an entire document to give it a professional and modern look by applying a document theme. A document theme is a set of formatting choices that include a set of theme colors, a set of theme fonts (including heading and body text fonts), and a set of theme effects (including lines and fill effects).

Programs such as Microsoft Office Word, Excel, and PowerPoint provide several predefined document themes, but you can also create your own by customizing and then saving an existing document theme. Document themes are shared across Office programs so that all of your Office documents can have the same, uniform look. However, unlike Word and Excel, PowerPoint includes background style customization options. For information about adding and customizing backgrounds, see Add a background to your presentation.

 Notes 

• For information about applying a theme in PowerPoint, see Apply a theme to your presentation.
• For information about customizing a theme in PowerPoint, see Customize and save a theme in PowerPoint 2007.

What do you want to do?

Apply a document theme

Customize a document theme

Save a document theme

Apply a document theme

To change the document theme that is applied by default in Word and Excel, select another predefined document theme or a custom document theme. Document themes that you apply affect the styles (style: A combination of formatting characteristics, such as font, font size, and indentation, that you name and store as a set. When you apply a style, all of the formatting instructions in that style are applied at one time.) that you can use in your document.

1. On the Page Layout tab, in the Themes group, click Themes.

or

2. Do one of the following:
   • To apply a predefined document theme, under Built-In, click the document theme that you want to use.
   • To apply a custom document theme, under Custom, click the document theme that you want to use.

 Note    Custom is available only if you created one or more custom document themes. For more information about creating custom document themes, see Customize a document theme below.

3. If a document theme that you want to use is not listed, click Browse for Themes to find it on your computer or network.
4. To search for other document themes on Office Online, click Search Office Online.

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Customize a document theme

To customize a document theme, you start by changing the colors, the fonts, or the line and fill effects that are used. Changes that you make to one or more of these theme components immediately affect the styles that you applied in the active document. If you want to apply these changes to new documents, you can save them as a custom document theme.

Customize the theme colors

Theme colors contain four text and background colors, six accent colors, and two hyperlink colors. The colors in the Theme Colors button represent the current text and background colors, and the set of colors next to the Theme Colors name after you click the Theme Colors button represent the accent and hyperlink colors for that theme. When you change any of these colors to create your own set of theme colors, the colors in the Theme Colors button and next to the Theme Colors name change accordingly.

1. On the Page Layout tab, in the Themes group, click Theme Colors.

or

2. Click Create New Theme Colors.
3. Under Theme colors, click the button of the theme color element that you want to change.
4. Under Theme Colors, select the colors that you want to use. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for all of the theme color elements that you want to change.

Tip  Under Sample, you can see the effect of the changes that you make. To see how the colors that you select affect styles that you have applied in your document, click Preview.

5. In the Name box, type an appropriate name for the new theme colors, and then click Save.

Tip  If you want to return all theme color elements to their original theme colors, click Reset before you click Save.

Customize the theme fonts

Theme fonts contain a heading font and a body text font. When you click the Theme Fonts button , you see the name of the heading and body text fonts used for each theme font below the Theme Fonts name. You can change both of these fonts to create your own set of theme fonts.

1. On the Page Layout tab, in the Themes group, click Theme Fonts.

or

2. Click Create New Theme Fonts.
3. In the Heading font and Body font boxes, select the fonts that you want to use.

Tip  The sample is updated with the fonts that you select.

4. In the Name box, type an appropriate name for the new theme fonts, and then click Save.

Select a set of theme effects

Theme effects are sets of lines and fill effects. When you click the Theme Effects button , you see the lines and fill effects used for each set of theme effects in the graphic displayed with the Theme Effects name. Although you cannot create your own set of theme effects, you can choose the theme effect that you want to use in your own document theme.

1. On the Page Layout tab, in the Themes group, click Theme Effects.

or

2. Click the effect that you want to use.

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Save a document theme

You can save any changes that you make to the colors, fonts, or line and fill effects of a document theme as a custom document theme that you can apply to other documents.

1. On the Page Layout tab, in the Themes group, click Themes.

or

2. Click Save Current Theme.
3. In the File Name box, type an appropriate name for the theme, and then click Save.

The custom document theme is saved in the Document Themes folder and is automatically added to the list of custom themes.

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Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Add or remove a sheet background

In Microsoft Office Excel, you can use a picture as a sheet background for display purposes only. A sheet background is not printed, and it is not retained in an individual worksheet or in an item that you save as a Web page.

Important  Because a sheet background is not printed, it cannot be used as a watermark. You can, however, mimic a watermark by inserting a graphic in a header or footer.

What do you want to do?

Add a sheet background

Remove a sheet background

Mimic a watermark in Excel

Add a sheet background

1. Click the worksheet that you want to display with a sheet background. Make sure that only one worksheet is selected.
2. On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, click Background.

3. Select the picture that you want to use for the sheet background, and then click Insert.

The selected picture is repeated to fill the sheet.

 Notes 

• To improve readability, you can hide cell gridlines and apply solid color shading to cells that contain data.
• A sheet background is saved with the worksheet data when you save the workbook.

Tip  To use a solid color as a sheet background, you can apply cell shading to all cells.

For more information, see Apply or remove cell shading.

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Remove a sheet background

1. Click the worksheet that is displayed with a sheet background. Make sure that only one worksheet is selected.
2. On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, click Delete Background.

 Note    Delete Background is available only when a worksheet has a sheet background.

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Mimic a watermark in Excel

Watermark functionality is not available in Microsoft Office Excel. However, you can mimic a watermark in one of two ways.

You can display watermark information on every printed page — for example, to indicate that the worksheet data is confidential or a draft copy — by inserting a picture that contains the watermark information in a header or footer. That picture then appears behind the worksheet data, starting at the top or bottom of every page. You can also resize or scale the picture to fill the whole page.

You can also use WordArt on top of the worksheet data to indicate that the data is confidential or a draft copy.

Use a picture in a header or footer to mimic a watermark

1. In a drawing program, such as Paintbrush, create a picture that you want to use as a watermark.
2. In Excel, click the worksheet that you want to display with the watermark.

 Note    Make sure that only one worksheet is selected.

3. On the Insert tab, in the Text group, click Header & Footer.

4. Under Header, click either the left, center, or right header selection box.
5. On the Design tab of the Header & Footer Tools, in the Header & Footer elements group, click Picture and then find the picture that you want to insert.

6. Double-click the picture to insert it in the header section box.
7. To resize or scale the picture, click Format Picture in the Header & Footer elements group, and then, in the Format Picture dialog box, select the options that you want on the Size tab.

 Notes 

• Changes to the picture or picture format take effect immediately and cannot be undone.
• If you want to add blank space above or below a picture, in the header selection box that contains the picture, click before or after &[Picture], and then press ENTER to start a new line.
• To replace a picture, select &[Picture], click Picture , and then click Replace.
• Before printing, make sure that the header or footer margin has sufficient space for the custom header or footer.
• To delete a picture, select &[Picture] and then press DELETE.
• To switch from Page Layout view to Normal view, select any cell, click the View tab, and then, in the Workbook Views group, click Normal.

Use WordArt to mimic a watermark

1. Click the worksheet location where you want to display the watermark.
2. On the Insert tab, in the Text group, click WordArt.

3. Click the WordArt style that you want to use.

Tip  For example, use Fill - White Drop Shadow, Fill - Text 1, Inner Shadow, or Fill - White, Warm Matte Bevel.

4. Type the text that you want to use for the watermark.
5. To change the size of the WordArt, click the WordArt, and then on the Format tab, in the Size group, in the Shape Height and Shape Width boxes, enter the size that you want.

Tip  You can also drag the sizing handles to the size that you want.

6. To add transparency so that you can see more of the worksheet data underneath the WordArt, do the following:
   1. Right-click the WordArt, and click Format Shape.
   2. In the Fill category, under Fill, click Solid Fill.
   3. Drag the Transparency slider to the percentage of transparency that you want, or enter the percentage in the Transparency box.
7. If you want to rotate the WordArt, do the following:
   1. Click the WordArt.
   2. On the Format tab, in the Arrange group, click Rotate.

3. Click More Rotation Options.
4. On the Size tab, under Size and rotate, in the Rotation box, enter the degree of rotation that you want.
5. Click Close.

Tip  You can also drag the rotation handle (rotation handle: Round arrow that appears at the top of a selected shape that you can use to rotate the shape.) in the direction that you want to rotate the WordArt.

 Note    You cannot use WordArt in a header or footer to display it in the background. However, if you create the WordArt in an empty worksheet that does not display gridlines (clear the Gridlines check box in the Show/Hide group on the View tab), you can press PRINT SCREEN to capture the WordArt, and then paste the captured WordArt into a drawing program. You can then insert the picture that you created in the drawing program into a header and footer as described in Use a picture in a header or footer to mimic a watermark.

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See Also

• Apply or remove cell shading
• Hide or display cell gridlines on a worksheet

Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Apply or remove cell borders on a worksheet

By using predefined border styles, you can quickly add a border around cells or ranges (range: Two or more cells on a sheet. The cells in a range can be adjacent or nonadjacent.) of cells. If predefined cell borders do not meet your needs, you can create a custom border.

 Note    Cell borders that you apply appear on printed pages. If you do not use cell borders but want worksheet gridline borders to be visible on printed pages, you can display the gridlines.

For more information, see Print with or without cell gridlines.

What do you want to do?

Apply a predefined cell border

Remove a cell border

Create a custom cell border

Apply a predefined cell border

1. On a worksheet, select the cell or range of cells that you want to add a border to, change the border style on, or remove a border from.

How to select a cell or a range

2. On the Home tab, in the Font group, do one of the following:
   • To apply a new or different border style, click the arrow next to Borders , and then click a border style.

Tip  To apply a custom border style or a diagonal border, click More Borders. In the Format Cells dialog box, on the Border tab, under Line and Color, click the line style and color that you want. Under Presets and Border, click one or more buttons to indicate the border placement. Two diagonal border buttons   are available under Border.

• To remove cell borders, click the arrow next to Borders , and then click No Border .

 Notes 

• The Borders button displays the most recently used border style. You can click the Borders button (not the arrow) to apply that style.
• If you apply a border to a selected cell, the border is also applied to adjacent cells that share a bordered cell boundary. For example, if you apply a box border to enclose the range B1:C5, the cells D1:D5 acquire a left border.
• If you apply two different types of borders to a shared cell boundary, the most recently applied border is displayed.
• A selected range of cells is formatted as a single block of cells. If you apply a right border to the range of cells B1:C5, the border is displayed only on the right edge of the cells C1:C5.
• If you want to print the same border on cells that are separated by a page break, but the border appears on only one page, you can apply an inside border. This way, you can print a border at the bottom of the last row of one page and use the same border at the top of the first row on the next page. Do the following:
  1. Select the rows on both sides of the page break.
  2. Click the arrow next to Borders , and then click More Borders.
  3. Under Presets, click the Inside button .
  4. Under Border, in the preview diagram, remove the vertical border by clicking it.

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Remove a cell border

1. On a worksheet, select the cell or range of cells that you want to remove a border from.

How to select a cell or a range

2. On the Home tab, in the Font group, click the arrow next to Borders , and then click No Border .

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Create a custom cell border

You can create a cell style that includes a custom border, and then you can apply that cell style when you want to display the custom border around selected cells.

1. On the Home tab, in the Styles group, click Cell Styles.

Tip  If you do not see the Cell Styles button, click Styles, and then click the More button next to the cell styles box.

2. Click New Cell Style.
3. In the Style name box, type an appropriate name for the new cell style.
4. Click Format.
5. On the Border tab, under Line, in the Style box, click the line style that you want to use for the border.
6. In the Color box, select the color that you want to use.
7. Under Border, click the border buttons to create the border that you want to use.
8. Click OK.
9. In the Style dialog box, under Style Includes (By Example), clear the check boxes for any formatting that you do not want to include in the cell style.
10. Click OK.
11. To apply the cell style, do the following:
    1. Select the cells that you want to format with the custom cell border.

How to select cells, ranges, rows, or columns

2. On the Home tab, in the Styles group, click Cell Styles.
3. Click the cell style that you want to apply.

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See Also

• Add, change, or delete shapes
• Apply or remove cell shading
• Draw or delete a line, connector, or freeform shape
• Print with or without cell gridlines
• Ways to format a worksheet
• What happened to the Drawing toolbar?

Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Hide or display cell gridlines on a worksheet

On a worksheet (worksheet: The primary document that you use in Excel to store and work with data. Also called a spreadsheet. A worksheet consists of cells that are organized into columns and rows; a worksheet is always stored in a workbook.), cell gridlines are displayed by default, but you can hide and show gridlines as needed.

1. Select one or more worksheets.

How to select worksheets

2. On the View tab, in the Show/Hide group, clear or select the Gridlines check box to hide or show the gridlines.

See Also

• Change the color of gridlines in a worksheet
• Display or hide chart gridlines
• Print with or without cell gridlines

Excel > Worksheet and Excel table basics > Formatting data

Change the color of text

You can change the color of the text in cells and the cell's background color. For the background color, you can use a solid color, or you can apply special effects, such as gradients, textures, and pictures.

What do you want to do?

Change the color of text

Change the background color of text

Apply a pattern or fill effect to a background color

Change the color of text

1. Select the cell (cell: A box formed by the intersection of a row and column in a worksheet or a table, in which you enter information.), range (range: Two or more cells on a sheet. The cells in a range can be adjacent or nonadjacent.) of cells, text, or characters (character: A letter, number, punctuation mark, or symbol.) that you want to format with a different text color.

How to select a cell, a range, or text in a cell

2. On the Home tab, in the Font group, do one of the following:
   • To change the text color, click the arrow next to Font Color , and then under Theme Colors or Standard Colors, click the color that you want to use.
   • To apply the most recently selected text color, click Font Color .
   • To apply a color other than the available theme colors and standard colors, click More Colors, and then define the color that you want to use on the Standard tab or Custom tab of the Colors dialog box.

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Change the background color of text

1. Select the cell (cell: A box formed by the intersection of a row and column in a worksheet or a table, in which you enter information.), range (range: Two or more cells on a sheet. The cells in a range can be adjacent or nonadjacent.) of cells, text, or characters (character: A letter, number, punctuation mark, or symbol.) that you want to format with a different background color.

How to select a cell, a range, or text in a cell

2. On the Home tab, in the Font group, do one of the following:
   • To change the background color, click the arrow next to Fill Color , and then under Theme Colors or Standard Colors, click the background color that you want to use.
   • To apply the most recently selected background color, click Fill Color .
   • To apply a color other than the available theme colors and standard colors, click More Colors, and then define the color that you want to use on the Standard tab or Custom tab of the Colors dialog box.

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Apply a pattern or fill effect to a background color

1. Select the cell (cell: A box formed by the intersection of a row and column in a worksheet or a table, in which you enter information.), range (range: Two or more cells on a sheet. The cells in a range can be adjacent or nonadjacent.) of cells, text, or characters (character: A letter, number, punctuation mark, or symbol.) to which you want to apply a background color with fill effects.

How to select a cell, a range, or text in a cell