how to highlight every other row in excel for mac

For instance, odd-numbered rows might be white, while even-numbered rows might be gray.

You can apply this formatting manually, but as you can imagine, or might have experienced, its a rather time-consuming task that requires constant updating as you add and remove data from the table.

Fortunately, conditional formatting can reduce the amount of patience required and enhance your professional image.

Select this range of cells, starting with A1, thus ensuring that A1 is the active cell in the selection.

From the drop-down that currently says Cell Value Is, select Formula Is.

In the Formula box, type the following formula, as shown in the figure.

The format you specified should be applied to every second row in the range A1:H100.

You also should have some patience left for the rest of the day.

Rows containing no data will still have the formatting applied.

Making the highlighting of every second row or column dynamic takes a little more formula tweaking.

Select Format Conditional Formatting., and from the Cell Value Is pull-down menu, select Formula Is.

Any row within the range A1:H100 that does not contain data will not have conditional formatting applied.

If you remove data from a specific row in your table, it too will no longer have conditional formatting applied.

In the language of Excel formulas, 0 has a Boolean value of FALSE, while any number greater than zero has a boolean value of TRUE.

When you use the formula MOD(ROW( ),2), it will return either a value of 0 ( FALSE ) or a number greater than 0.

You use the MOD function to return the remainder after dividing one number by another.

In the case of the formula you used, you are dividing the row number by the number 2, so all even row numbers will return 0, while all odd row numbers will always return a number greater than 0.

When you nest the ROW( ) function and the COUNTA function in the AND function, it means you must return TRUE (or any number greater than 0 ) to both the MOD function and the COUNTA function for the AND function to return TRUE.

How To Highlight Every Other Row In Excel For Mac