Color Shading Options in Excel 2003

[u742884]

In Excel 2003, when choosing colors for cell patterns, it only gives me the option of 40 colors. How do I get it to offer me the "More colors..." that you see when coloring shapes that brings up the hexagonal color pallette?

 

[xld]

In short you don't. You could customise the palette, or build your own dialog.

 

[pbornemeier]

Tools | Options | Colors will allow you to change any of the standard 40 colors. The modified 40-color palette will be stored with that workbook.

 

[Jonmo1]

You must be referring to the little dropdown fill color button on the toolbar, that only shows 40.

But when I go to Format - Cells - Patterns, it shows all 56.

 

[Legacy 98055]

What Phil said. You can use any color that your system will support but are limited to 40 colors at any given time.

 

[Jonmo1]

What Phil said. You can use any color that your system will support but are limited to 40 colors at any given time.

Wrong, you are limited to 56 colors at a time.

The little dropdown menu on the toolbar is just a convenient, quick access format button (and it only holds 40)
The REAL (non quick access) method, is Format - Cells - Patterns.
All 56 colors are shown there.

 

[Legacy 98055]

Ok. 56.

 

[daknight]

Can anyone tell me why the drop down of 40 colors would change in a specific workbook? I have one I work in where I don't have choices for the bright green or bright yellow, they are both grey. Can you tell me how to repair this?
???

 

[Jonmo1]

Well, Excel is actually capable of like 16 million colors (something like that).
But only 56 used at a time.
They are stored in a list of Index #s (1 - 56)

You can customize and change each of those index #s to different colors, but again, still only having 56 at a time.
To customize a color, click Tools - Options - Color, Select a color you DON'T want, then click Modify.
Notice that you sacrifice 1 color, to create a custom one yourself.

so if you take Red (index #3 by default), and change it to purple, index #3 is now purple, and you no longer have red.

That is called your Pallette. The 56 colors defined for that book.

Each workbook has it's own pallette. Each one CAN be different from the other.

so opening 1 book, it may have one set of colors assigned to the 56 indexes, while a 2nd book has something else.


How to fix it? You can restore the 56 indexes to the Default colors by..

Tools - Options - Color
Reset.

 

[daknight]

thank you, jonmo1. The color reset was exactly what I needed and couldn't find.
THANKS!!