Changing Font Color

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 28, 2020)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

Normally, Excel displays information using black type. This is acceptable if you are printing to a regular printer, but many people these days have color printers. Additionally, you may want to simply use different colors for displaying information on the screen. You can change the font color used by Excel in the following manner:

  1. Choose the cells whose font color you wish to change.
  2. Choose Cells from the Format menu. Excel displays the Format Cells dialog box.
  3. Make sure the Font tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)

    4. Figure 1. The Font tab of the Format Cells dialog box.

  4. Using the Color drop-down list, select the color you want used for the information in the cells you selected in step 1.
  5. Click on OK.

There is another way to change font color, and you might find it a bit faster. You can change font color using the toolbars in this manner.

  1. Choose the cells whose font color you wish to change.
  2. Click on the down-arrow at the right side of the Font Color tool on the toolbar. This displays a color palette.
  3. Click on the color you wish to use.

At this point the color of the information in the selected cell is changed. You may also have noticed that the color bar at the bottom of the Font Color tool changed, as well. This means that in the future, all you need to do is select cells and click on the tool to change their font to the same color.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2674) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Removing Automatic Lines

Type a few dashes, underscores, or equal signs, and you could end up with a full-width line in your document. This is ...

Discover More

Hiding Columns Not within a Date Range

Want to automatically hide some columns that don't meet a date criteria that you set? You can't do it automatically, but ...

Discover More

Selecting a Group of Words

Want to select a chunk of text in a document? Perhaps the easiest way to do this involves using the mouse in conjunction ...

Discover More

Program Successfully in Excel! This guide will provide you with all the information you need to automate any task in Excel and save time and effort. Learn how to extend Excel's functionality with VBA to create solutions not possible with the standard features. Includes latest information for Excel 2024 and Microsoft 365. Check out Mastering Excel VBA Programming today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Formatting Combo Box Text

If you insert objects, such as a combo box, in your worksheet, you may need a way to modify the font used in the object. ...

Discover More

Copying Formatting

Excel provides a couple of different ways to copy formatting from one cell to another. Perhaps the easiest way is to use ...

Discover More

Moving Custom Formats to Number Formatting Categories

Moving your custom formats into a formatting category other than "custom" isn't something you can do in Excel. Here's ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 0 + 6?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.