No Text Highlight in Excel ??

[Guest]

In Microsoft Word you can color highlight text. In Excel you can't? In
Excel I can only find where to highlight the cell, but I don't want the whole
cell highlighted. I just want the portion of text highlighted. I'll be
utterly shocked if Excel can't do a simple text highlight.

I'm using Microsoft Excel 2007 btw.

 

[Guest]

Hi Ean,

Select the cell where you want the color highlighting and then in the
formula bar at the top select just that part of the text you want to color
and set the color as you would for the entire cell.

Regards,

OssieMac

 

[RobN]

You can also do it by selecting that part of the text directly in the cell.

Rob

 

[Guest]

Unfortunately, this does not work.

[according to "OssieMac"]:
1. Select the cell where you want the color highlighting
2. Select desired text in the formula bar.
3. Set the color as you would for the entire cell

Step 1, fine. Step 2, fine. On Step 3, as soon as I highlight the text in
the formula bar, all cell formatting options are grayed out and inaccessible.
Once that formula bar text is highlighted, the only thing(s) i can do is
edit that text.

I don't want to change the text color, which by following the suggested
steps only allows me to change the text color.

Am I misinterpreting your suggestion and/or doing something wrong?

 

[Guest]

You can just change part or all the text color by using that procedure but
not shadowing or highlighting part of the text.
--
Can''''t hear the Rain ?
Then listen to it.

Unfortunately, this does not work.

[according to "OssieMac"]:
1. Select the cell where you want the color highlighting
2. Select desired text in the formula bar.
3. Set the color as you would for the entire cell

Step 1, fine. Step 2, fine. On Step 3, as soon as I highlight the text in
the formula bar, all cell formatting options are grayed out and inaccessible.
Once that formula bar text is highlighted, the only thing(s) i can do is
edit that text.

I don't want to change the text color, which by following the suggested
steps only allows me to change the text color.

Am I misinterpreting your suggestion and/or doing something wrong?

Hi Ean,

Select the cell where you want the color highlighting and then in the
formula bar at the top select just that part of the text you want to color
and set the color as you would for the entire cell.

Regards,

OssieMac

 

[Guest]

Okay, I just selected the text within the cell I wanted to highlight. With
that text selected, I moused over to the ribbon and chose the
Home->Cells->Format option. Everything is grayed out except for the very
last option, Format Cells...

I chose that option. The only tab that appears is the Font tab, where I can
format the selected text font attributes. Yes, I can choose a different
color, but I don't want to change my text color. I want to HIGHLIGHT THE
BACKGROUND of that text to a different color.

I just don't see how this is possible. I must be missing something.

 

[Guest]

Exactly. So that procedure is not the solution to my dilemma. Is it just a
fact that Excel cannot perform color highlighting of text within a cell
without changing the entire cell background color?

 

[Gord Dibben]

If you download Chip Pearson's rowliner add-in you will see that Chip has
provided a way to set the colorfill on part of a cell by layering an object over
part of the cell.

So there is a way by adding a small semi-transparent autoshape over the text in
question.

Exactly where to place it would be the next question.


Gord Dibben MS Excel MVP

 

[Guest]

Wow, I can't believe how hard it is to get a straight answer. A "Yes, Excel
has a highlight feature and this is how you do it.", or, "No, Excel does not
have a highlight feature." I suppose is too difficult for Microsoft to
answer. C'mon folks, a simple yes or no would be nice.

I thank you for the work-around suggestions, but they don't perform the way
in which I expect and/or need.

For now, I will walk away with the understanding that Microsoft Excel
doesn't have a simple highlight feature like it's counterpart, MS Word. It
would be nice to see someday though in perhaps a service pack upgrade or
something.

Cheers.

 

[David Biddulph]

On this group you are not asking Microsoft for an answer, you are asking
other Excel users.

Your one word answer is No.

 

[Guest]

As I thought. Thanks David. Perhaps MS will incorporate this feature in the
future.

 

[PJI]

I realise that this is a really old thread but I just had a similar problem with highlighting specific text in an Excel cell. The solution given by Ossie did not work for me either (Fill option greyed out). Haven't tried the more complex option offered but did try copying and pasting a line of text containing the highlighted word from MS Word (2010) into an Excel Text Box. This worked and the highlighting was maintained after I selected 'Keep Source Formatting' from the drop down paste options. Its not highlighting text in the actual cell but it sort works for what I need.

Regards