Spreadsheet 123 Excel 2003/XP/2000/97: Alternate three row colors

Question:  How can I set up alternating row colors in Excel 2003/XP/2000/97? I want to alternate between 3 shaded rows and 3 white rows.

Answer:  To do this, first highlight the rows that you wish to apply the formatting to. In this example, we've selected all rows in the spreadsheet.

Under the Format menu, select Conditional Formatting.

When the Conditional Formatting window appears, select "Formula Is" in the drop down. Then enter the following formula:

=MOD(TRUNC((ROW()+2)/3),2)=1

You may need to adjust the ROW()+2 to either ROW() or ROW()+1 depending on which row you want to see shaded first.

Next, we need to select the color we want to see in the shaded rows. To do this, click on the Format button.

When the Format Cells window appears, select the Patterns tab. Then select the color that you'd like to see. In this example, we've selected a light green. Then click on the OK button.

When you return to the Conditional Formatting window, you should see the following. Next, click on the OK button.

Now when you return to the spreadsheet, the conditional formatting will be applied.

As you can see, you now have alternating colors - 3 shaded rows followed by 3 white rows. You can insert, delete, and move rows, and you don't have to worry about reapplying formatting.