How to automatically color alternating rows/columns in Excel?

Supposing you have a range of data, now you want to automatically color alternating rows when you add new data at the bottom of the range as below screenshots shown, how can you quickly solve this task? This tutorial can give you some suggestions.

Automatically color alternating rows/columns with formatting as a table

Automatically color alternating rows/columns with Conditional Formatting

Automatically color alternating rows/columns with Kutools for Excel

Automatically color alternating rows/columns with formatting as a table

In Excel, if you want to automatically color alternating rows or columns, you can create a table.

1. Select the range you want to work at, and click Insert > Table, see screenshot:

2. In the Create Table dialog, check My table has headers (If your range has no headers, uncheck this option), and click OK. See screenshot:

3. Then go to Design tab of the Table Tools, and select the table styles you like. See screenshot:

Now, the table will be automatically colored alternating rows when you add new data.

Tip: If you want to automatically color alternating columns, just need to check Banded Columns in the Table Style Options group under Design tab.

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Automatically color alternating rows/columns with Conditional Formatting

You also can use Conditional Formatting function to auto color every other rows/columns.

1. Select the data range you want to color the alternating rows, and click Home > Conditional Formatting > New Rule. See screenshot:

2. In the New Formatting Rule dialog, click Use a formula to determine which cells to format, and type this formula =MOD(ROW(),2) into the Format values where this formula is true textbox. See screenshot:

3. Then click Format, and under Fill tab, select a color you need to shade the alternating rows, see screenshot:

4. Click OK > OK. Now you can see the rows will be automatically shaded when you add new data.

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Tips:

(1) If you want to color alternating columns, use this formula =MOD(COLUMN(),2).

(2) The fill color will be added to new rows/columns only if the new added data has the same format as its above data.

Automatically color alternating rows/columns with Kutools for Excel

If you neither want to change the range to table, nor remember formulas, you can try to use the Alternate Row/Column Shading function of Kutools for Excel, which also can help you quickly automatically color every other rows or columns while adding new data.

After free installing Kutools for Excel, please do as below:

1. Select the data range you need to color, and click Kutools > Format > Alternate Row/Column Shading. See screenshot:

2. In the popped out dialog, do as below operation:

1) Specify to alternate color by rows or columns;

2) Select one of the shading method: Conditional formatting or Standard formatting (if you have applied conditional formatting in your range, when you want to shade them by every other row/column, please choose Standard formatting option);

3) Select one color you want to shade the range by alternating rows/columns.

4) Type 1 into the Shade every box.

3. Click Ok. And the rows will be auto colored by every other while adding new data.

Auto color alternating column

Note:

1. If you want to remove all conditional formatting and background color, select the range and check Remove existing alternated row shading option in Alternate Row/Column Shading dialog.

2. The new adding data must be as the same format with its above data, or the alternate shading cannot be automatically added to new added rows/columns.

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