Make your spreadsheet more readable by auto-colouring alternate rows

Want your Microsoft Excel worksheet to have a neat, laid-back, delving into a little beauty worthy of looking into, easy for someone to read through at a glance? One of the most basic yet underrated enhancements you can do to increase the readability of your data is to colour alternate row colours in Excel. Best of all, it is something you can do automatically in  Microsoft Excel using Table Styles, there's no need to select every alternate row and format it!)

This technique will surely graduate you to another level if you happen to work, and excel, with huge datasets, financial models, inventory logs, or client databases. Alternate row colours assist users in tracing down data more precisely and in their recognition of errors.


🎯 Why Colour Alternate Rows in Excel?

  • To improve data readability and prevent misreading across long rows
  • To add to the visual attractiveness of the spreadsheet
  • To glamorize reports and dashboards
  • To keep away eye strain when deep into details or number-heavy sheets 
  • Easy to apply with zero formulas or codes

🛠 Step-by-Step: How to Auto-Color Alternate Rows in Excel Table Styles

✅ Step 1: Convert Your Data into an Excel Table

  1. Choose the range of data you want to format.
  2. Click on the Insert tab found on the Ribbon bar.
  3. Pick the Table option.
  4. Ensure "My table has headers" is checked if your data includes column headers.
  5. Click OK

Excel will now format your range as a structured table

✅ Step 2: Apply Banded Rows by Table Style

  1. With your table selected, click the Table Design tab (or the Design tab in older versions).
  2. In the Table Style Options group, on the right side of the ribbon, click Banded Rows.
  3. Excel will then adorn the matrix with alternating shades of colours based on your table style.

🎨 Create Your Table Style to Go with Your Brand or Theme

  • Want to ensure it matches your corporate colour scheme or other style guides?
  • Click the Table Design tab.
  • At the very bottom of the Table Styles gallery, choose New Table Style.
  • Set up your formatting conditions for Header Row, Banded Rows, Total Row, etc.
  • Save it and apply this custom style to your future tables.

💼 Real-World Application Scenarios

  • Financial Statements: Distinguish rows for debit and credit entries clearly
  • Inventory Sheets: Help users scan item names and quantities easily
  • Client Lists: Avoid errors caused by line skipping when reviewing records
  • KPI Dashboards: Give a visual structure to performance metrics

🔄 Bonus Tip: Duplicate the Striping with Conditional Formatting (Optional)

If you're not using an Excel Table but want that alternate colouring feature:

  • Select the data range.
  • Go to Home -> Conditional Formula to determine which cells to format.
  • Enter the formula: =MOD(ROW(),2)=0
  • Click Format, choose a fill colour, and press OK.

This method gives you even more control without converting the range into a table.

By mastering Microsoft Excel's automatic banded row feature, you can instantly give your spreadsheets a cleaner, more organized look, boosting both functionality and professionalism. Whether you're sharing reports with your boss, team, or clients, they'll appreciate the enhanced clarity.

Make your data pop. Format smart. Excel confidently.


🎓 Learn More with Other Levels

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