How to highlight different columns in Excel

You can watch a video tutorial here.

The format of a spreadsheet in Excel is in the form of columns and rows. It is easy to select a single column by clicking on the column header. When you need to highlight multiple adjacent columns, you can select the columns and then highlight them by changing the background color of the cell. In this example, we will see how to highlight columns that are not adjacent to each other. 

Option 1 – Use the button on the ribbon

Step 1 – Select the first column

• Select the top cell in the first column to be selected
• Press Ctrl+Shift+Down arrow
• The data in the column is selected

Step 2 – Select the other columns

• Hold down the Ctrl key
• Click on the top cell in the next column
• Press Shift+Down arrow
• Repeat the above steps, holding down the Ctrl key all the while

Step 3 – Choose a color

• Go to Home > Font
• Expand the Fill Color dropdown
• Select a color

Step 4 – Check the result

• The selected columns are highlighted

Option 2 – Use the Format Cells window

Step 1 – Select the first column

• Select the top cell in the first column to be selected
• Press Ctrl+Shift+Down arrow
• The data in the column is selected

Step 2 – Select the other columns

• Hold down the Ctrl key
• Click on the top cell in the next column
• Press Shift+Down arrow
• Repeat the above steps, holding down the Ctrl key all the while

Step 3 – Open the Format Cells window

• Right-click and select Format Cells  from the context menu

OR

Go to Home > Number  and click on the arrow to expand the menu

OR

Go to Home > Cells > Format > Format Cells

OR

Press Ctrl+1

Step 4 – Choose a color

• Go to the Fill tab
• Select a color
• Click OK

Step 5 – Check the result

• The selected columns are highlighted