Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Changing the Color Used to Denote Selected Cells.
Whenever you select a range of cells to enter data, the active cell is white and all the other cells in the range are a contrasting color. As you enter data and then press the Enter key, that cell becomes the contrasting color and the next cell becomes the active cell and is white. You may wonder how to change the contrasting color to make the selected range stand out more.
The colors used by Excel when you select items are controlled not by Excel, but by Windows. You can change the selection color, but you should understand that when you do so it may affect other programs besides just Excel. The exact steps you follow depend on your version of Windows. If you are using Windows XP, follow these steps:
Figure 1. The Advanced Appearance dialog box.
If you are using Vista, follow these steps instead:
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (8261) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Changing the Color Used to Denote Selected Cells.
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2016-08-21 18:56:14
nancy golden
My work computer has now been updated to windows 8.1 (soon to be updated again). We run office 2016.
The problem in this article is EXACTLY what I'm looking to solve. Unfortunately, I can't find any context menu. The closest ones I find don't give you the options you showed.
Any ideas? I need to be able to easily look at a spreadsheet and locate the cells that have been "found"...but they're virtually impossible to see.
Thanks.
2016-04-24 12:13:58
JMJ
Thank you for maintaining your so useful tips for those who still use XP!
(I know it's bad, but I just can't refrain :-)
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.
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Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: 
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