Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 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: Colors and Fonts for Worksheet Tabs.

Colors and Fonts for Worksheet Tabs

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 14, 2020)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365

Excel is quite configurable in how information appears on your screen. At some time, you may want to change the appearance of the worksheet tabs at the bottom of your workbook. Unfortunately, Excel allows very little customization of the way worksheet tabs are presented.

If you want to change the font used in a worksheet tab, you need to change the fonts used by Windows (not Excel) to displays information. You can use the Windows Control Panel to modify the appearance of information within your system. Understand, however, that such changes affect all programs running on your system, not just Excel.

If you want to change the color used to display a worksheet tab, you can follow these steps:

  1. Right-click on the worksheet tab you want to change. Excel displays a Context menu.
  2. Choose Tab Color from the Context menu. Excel displays a palette of available colors.
  3. Select a color to use for the tab.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (9702) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Colors and Fonts for Worksheet Tabs.

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. ...

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