Automatically Alternate Row Coloring in Excel

Two Ways to Alternate Row Coloring in Excel

If you’re using excel 2007 or 2010, probably the quickest and easiest way to get automatically alternate row coloring is by using Excel’s built-in table feature. However, there are several instances when the solution calls for something other than an Excel table. In this article, we’re going to cover a very simple, yet effective way to automatically alternate row coloring within an Excel spreadsheet. We’ll use 3 concepts:

  • Conditional Formatting
  • The MOD function
  • The ROW function
The file below is an example of the steps below.

Automatically Alternate Row Coloring Download

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The Short Answer

For those of you who don’t need a detailed step-by-step how-to, here you go:

  • Highlight the area of interest
  • Go to the conditional formatting section in the ribbon and select new rule
  • Use the formula =MOD(ROW(),2)=1 and then set your preferences

Step-by-Step Instructions with Screen Shots

Step 1

Highlight the area of interest – in this example we’re not using any data, but you get the point.

Step 2

Under the ‘Home’ ribbon, select ‘Conditional Formatting’ then select ‘New Rule’

Step 3

The ‘New Formatting Rule’ box will open, select ‘Use a formula to find which cells to format’ and enter the following formula as shown in the picture below; note, you can copy and paste this formula.

=MOD(ROW(),2)=1

Step 4

Select ‘Format’ and then pick the formatting you’re interested in – in this example we’re only choosing to fill the rows. After you select your formatting, click ‘OK’ (you’ll have to click this twice).

How does this formula work?

The first thing that happens is that the =ROW() formula identifies the row number (i.e., 1 = 1, 2 = 2, etc). Then the MOD function divides the row number by a divisor, in this case 2 and returns either a “0” for even rows or a “1” for odd rows. Because we set the formula = 1, when that’s true, the conditional formatting is active. Change this formula to be less than 1, =MOD(ROW(),2)=0, if you wanted all even rows highlighted.

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On October 29, 2015   /   How To, Useful Resources