June
30
2006
Some times, it’s just a good idea to re-iterate information that’s already out there.
Perhaps a half dozen times in the last year, I got fed up with the default color palette in Excel and then have to go hunting for the way to change it, because in a non Excel 2007 instance (thanks Microsoft for bubbling up the color palette in 2007), it’s difficult to get to and more importantly, difficult to remember.
So, if you want to use the colors of your company or web site theme in a report and they’re not in the default palette here’s what you do (at least in Excel 2003):
Tools - Options - Color - Modify.
Now, the palette is limited to only using something like 56 colors at a time so one of the things that you can do is set up your custom pallete and save it as a template and then when you want those colors, you can start a spreadsheet based on the template.
Caveat, selecting a palette that works is difficult (notice how bad the default color choices in Excel are) so if you’re not sure grab the nearest designer or artist and have them help you build a color scheme.
If you choose not to put the palette in a template, or if someone else already has sent you a workbook with the color palette you want, here’s a tip. Go to Tools > Options > Color > Copy Colors From… and you can copy the palette from any other workbook you have open.
[...] One of the problems with the previously discussed Excel color tip is that custom colors are not particularly portable. In other words, I can easily set up the custom palette on my computer but sharing that with you is a rigamorole. Instead of the color definitions being embedded in the Excel file, I’d have to give you a template file that you could import the palette from (yech!) every time you want to look at the report with my carefully chosen and designed colors. [...]