Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Finding Cells Filled with a Particular Color.

Finding Cells Filled with a Particular Color

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 29, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365

Vanita asked if there is a way to select cells containing a specific color. (I'm talking background color here, not text color.) Accomplishing the task is easy; just follow these steps:

  1. Press Ctrl+F to display the Find tab of the Find and Replace dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

    2. Figure 1. The Find tab of the Find and Replace dialog box.

  2. Make sure there is nothing in the Find What box.
  3. Click Format. (You may need to click Options to see the Format button.) Excel displays the Find Format dialog box.
  4. Make sure the Fill tab is displayed. (See Figure 2.)

    5. Figure 2. The Fill tab of the Find Format dialog box.

  5. From the colors available, choose the color you want to find.
  6. Click OK to close the Find Format dialog box.
  7. Click Find All. The Find and Replace dialog box expands to show the addresses of all the cells formatted with the color you specified in step 5. (See Figure 3.)

    8. Figure 3. The expanded Find and Replace dialog box.

  8. Click one of the cell addresses in the bottom of the dialog box. Excel selects the cell within the actual worksheet.
  9. Press Ctrl+A. All of the addresses within the dialog box are selected.
  10. Click Close. All the cells of the desired color are selected.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the ExcelTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (6224) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Finding Cells Filled with a Particular Color.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Pasted Text Looks Like Hollow Squares

When you paste something into your document, you expect it to at least be readable. If, instead of letters, you see small ...

Discover More

Printing All or Nothing

Want to make sure that when you worksheet is printed that everything in the workbook is really printed? You can ...

Discover More

Dynamically Changing Worksheet Tab Color

Excel makes it easy to change the color of a worksheet's tab. If you want that color change to be dynamic, one way to do ...

Discover More

Best-Selling VBA Tutorial for Beginners Take your Excel knowledge to the next level. With a little background in VBA programming, you can go well beyond basic spreadsheets and functions. Use macros to reduce errors, save time, and integrate with other Microsoft applications. Fully updated for the latest version of Office 365. Check out Microsoft 365 Excel VBA Programming For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Replacing Characters at the End of a Cell

The Find and Replace capabilities of Excel can come in handy, but they can't accomplish all your replacement needs. One ...

Discover More

Changing Default Search Settings

Excel provides some great tools for finding information in a worksheet or a workbook. Changing the default settings used ...

Discover More

Making All Occurrences Bold

Want to make instances of a given word or phrase bold throughout a worksheet? Here's a way you can make the change quickly.

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 9 + 1?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.