Microsoft KB Archive/31715

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Excel: Applying Color to Text in a Cell

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SUMMARY
To assign a color to a cell in Microsoft Excel version 2.20, do the following:


 * 1) Select the cell or range of cells.
 * 2) From the Format menu, choose Font.
 * 3) Select the desired color. Click OK.

This method is not available in Excel version 1.50. To assign a color to a cell in Excel 1.50 or to assign a color in Excel 1.50 or 2.20 based on the value in the cell, do the following:


 * 1) Select the cell or range of cells.
 * 2) From the Format menu, choose Number.
 * 3) Select the format you want to change.
 * 4) Position the insertion point after the format. Type a left bracket ([), the color you want, and a right bracket (]).
 * 5) Click OK.

MORE INFORMATION
Microsoft Excel versions 1.50 and 2.20 allow you to assign any of the basic screen colors to a cell's formatting. The basic colors are red, green, blue, yellow, cyan, magenta, black, and white. A color is assigned as part of the cell's format, and can be dependent on its value.

For example, you could format a cell to display a positive number in green, a negative number in red, a zero in yellow, and text in blue. If you change the contents of a cell, its color will change accordingly.

In Excel version 1.50 and 2.20, the number format is made up of four sections (three number sections and a text section), each separated by a semicolon. Text usually appears in the fourth position of the cell's format. If you want to place text in any other position, the text must be preceded by the &quot;@&quot; symbol. If you format a cell to display white, the cell will appear blank when a value is entered.

If your monitor is monochrome, you will not see any indication of color on the screen. However, if you later use that worksheet on a color monitor, you will see the assigned colors. The following are examples of color value formats for Excel 1.50 and 2.20:


 * 1) Format: General[green]

Display: All numbers and text in green.
 * 1) Format: 0[red];0[black];0[blue];@[green]

Display: Positive numbers in red, negative numbers in black, zero in blue, and text in green.
 * 1) Format: #.#0[cyan];(#.#0)[blue];0

Display: Positive numbers in cyan, negative numbers in blue; zero and text will default to black.
 * 1) Format: General[yellow];General[red]

Display: Positive numbers, zero, and text in yellow; negative numbers in red.
 * 1) Format: General[cyan];@[white]

Display: All numbers in cyan; text in white.

Additional query words: 1.50 2.20

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