Excel automatically highlighting row and column

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the automatic highlighting of rows and columns in Excel after a Windows update, focusing on how to disable this feature. Participants share their experiences and seek solutions related to this functionality within different versions of Excel.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation, Debate/contested, Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses frustration with the new green highlighting feature in Excel after a Windows update and seeks assistance in turning it off.
  • Another participant suggests using the Focus Cell button on the View tab or a keyboard shortcut to toggle the highlighting feature.
  • A participant acknowledges the suggestion and notes the difficulty in finding the right buttons in Excel, especially without knowing their names.
  • There is a question about whether the Focus Cell feature is available only in newer versions of Excel and Windows, as one participant mentions using an older version.
  • A later reply indicates that the Focus Cell feature is visible in Microsoft 365 on Windows 11, but highlights the existence of many resources on VBA methods for achieving similar highlighting, suggesting that the built-in feature may not have been widely available before.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the availability of the Focus Cell feature across different versions of Excel, indicating that multiple views remain regarding its accessibility and functionality.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include uncertainty about the specific versions of Excel that support the Focus Cell feature and the reliance on user interface elements that may differ across updates and installations.

gmax137
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Excel on Windows 11. My windows was "updated" yesterday. Now, when I open an excel file, I get this green highlighting. Anyone know how to turn this off? It really annoys me.
Thanks!

Example 1 (Cursor is in cell D9)
excel1.jpg


Example 2 (cursor in F12)
excel2.jpg
 
Computer science news on Phys.org
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365insiderblog/increase-ease-of-navigation-with-focus-cell-in-excel/4264531 said:
On the View tab, select Focus Cell button to toggle the feature on and off, or press Alt + W + E + F.
 
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Likes   Reactions: harborsparrow, jedishrfu and berkeman
Just so, @jack action Thanks so much. I searched on "excel highlight row and column" but all the hits I got were VBA recipes to make excel do the highlighting. Apparently enough people wanted to do this, that MS built it in at some point ("Focus Cell")
My biggest problem with excel is finding the right buttons, especially when I don't know the name of the button, lol.
 
@jack action -- Is that only on newer versions of Excel and Win11? I'm using an old 2019 Home version on Win10.
 
@berkeman Here's where I see it (Microsoft 365 on Win 11). Not sure if that will help you. Although as I mentioned above, there are lots of hits describing how to do the highlighting via VBA, so the built in feature must not have been available.

excel3.jpg
 
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