Color coding cells in Excel

J

jdiedrick

I have 3 letter codes that I would like to color code so that whenever I
type those 3 letter codes anywhere in the spread sheet the cell changes
to the color assigned to that specific code. How do I set this up?
 
M

Max

One way via conditional formatting

Assume the 3 letter codes are: ABC, DEF, GHI

Press CTRL+A (Selects the entire sheet)

Click Format > Conditional Formatting
and set for Conditions 1 to 3, the "Formula Is:"
=ISNUMBER(FIND("ABC",A1))
=ISNUMBER(FIND("DEF",A1))
=ISNUMBER(FIND("GHI",A1))
Format to taste the fill color for each of the 3 conditions, OK out

Note: Replace FIND with SEARCH in the cond format formulas above
if case sensitivity for the 3 letter codes is not important
(FIND is case sensitive)

Adapt to suit ..
 
D

David McRitchie

I would expect if it take three letters do describe the color that
a choice of more than 3 colors (and 1 default) is wanted.

The normal solution is to use the change event for changes
that are typed in constants (not formulas). see
http://www.mvps.org/dmcritchie/excel/event.htm#case

For those that would rather use an addin that extends the limit
of 3 Conditional Formatting conditions per cell you take a look
at CFPlus - Extended Conditional Formatter, Bob Phillips
http://www.xldynamic.com/source/xld.CFPlus.Download.html
---
HTH,
David McRitchie, Microsoft MVP - Excel [site changed Nov. 2001]
My Excel Pages: http://www.mvps.org/dmcritchie/excel/excel.htm
Search Page: http://www.mvps.org/dmcritchie/excel/search.htm

Max said:
One way via conditional formatting

Assume the 3 letter codes are: ABC, DEF, GHI

Press CTRL+A (Selects the entire sheet)

Click Format > Conditional Formatting
and set for Conditions 1 to 3, the "Formula Is:"
=ISNUMBER(FIND("ABC",A1))
=ISNUMBER(FIND("DEF",A1))
=ISNUMBER(FIND("GHI",A1))
Format to taste the fill color for each of the 3 conditions, OK out

Note: Replace FIND with SEARCH in the cond format formulas above
if case sensitivity for the 3 letter codes is not important
(FIND is case sensitive)

Adapt to suit ..
Click to expand...
 
M

Max

David McRitchie said:
I would expect if it take three letters do describe the color that
a choice of more than 3 colors (and 1 default) is wanted ..
Click to expand...

Good additions, thanks. Guess I was so mesmerised by the magical number 3
in the OP's "3 letter codes" that I took it to mean there were only 3 codes
involved (besides each code having 3 letters, that is) <g>
 
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