Shade Alternating Rows Or Columns

A. The easiest way is with Conditional Formatting . Begin by highlighting the rows you want to format—presumably an entire worksheet—by clicking on the blank cell to the left of column A and above the 1.

Then click on Format , Conditional Formatting to open the function’s window. Under Condition 1 , press the down arrow and select Formula Is and add this formula: =mod(row(),2)=1 . If you want the shading to begin with the second row, rather than the first, substitute 0 for the 1.

To choose the color, click on the Format button and then on the Patterns tab to evoke this screen:

After you select the color, you’ll be returned to the Conditional Formatting screen. Finish by clicking on OK and your spreadsheet will look like this:

If you want to shade alternating columns instead of rows, use this formula: =mod(column(),2)=0.