Fill Color Doesn't Display

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 26, 2024)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


Rick wrote about a problem he was having when viewing cells that have a fill color. It seems that the color doesn't show up on the display, but it does show up when he prints the worksheet.

This problem is most likely related to the settings in Windows, not in Excel. Follow these general steps:

  1. Display the Control Panel.
  2. Double-click the Accessibility Options applet. Windows displays the Accessibility Options dialog box.
  3. Make sure the Display tab is visible. (See Figure 1.)
  4. Figure 1. The Display tab of the Accessibility Options dialog box.

  5. Clear the Use High Contrast check box.
  6. Click OK.

The fill colors should now be visible in the worksheet. They were "hidden" to make viewing data easier for those with certain types of visual limitations. This problem is detailed in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/833258

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (3300) 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

Inserting the Subject in Your Document

One of the properties you can specify for a document is a subject. You can then use a field code to insert this subject, ...

Discover More

Stopping Enter from being Pressed In a Form

If you create a form using Word, chances are good that you don't want a user to mess up the layout of the form by ...

Discover More

Defaulting Input to Negative Values

When entering many negative values in a worksheet, you could save time if you didn't need to enter the minus sign for ...

Discover More

Solve Real Business Problems Master business modeling and analysis techniques with Excel and transform data into bottom-line results. This hands-on, scenario-focused guide shows you how to use the latest Excel tools to integrate data from multiple tables. Check out Microsoft Excel 2013 Data Analysis and Business Modeling today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Grabbing a User's Name from Excel

One of the settings you can make in Excel is to specify a user's name. This name is accessible through macros, and can ...

Discover More

Selecting Tabs in Dialog Boxes

Want to move around in dialog boxes using just the keyboard? You'll love the ideas in this tip, then.

Discover More

Disappearing Toolbar Buttons for Macros

One of the important configuration files for Excel is known as the XLB file. You should periodically make backups of this ...

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.

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 1 + 0?

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.