Carol's Corner Office

MS Excel will allow you to change the background patterns used in your cells.  There could be any number of reasons why you may want to do this, but luckily it is very easy to accomplish.

Follow the steps below to learn how:

version 2003:

1. Select the cells whose patterns you would like to change.
2. Select Cells from the Format menu to discplay the dialog box.
3. Be certain the Patterns tab has been selected.

4. Use the Pattern drop-down list to select one of the patterns available to you.
5. Click on OK.

Versions 2007, 2010:

1. Select the cells whose patterns you would like to change.
2. Click on the Home tab of your Ribbon.
3. In the Cells group, click the Format tool and then click Format Cells to display the dialog box.

1. Be certain the Fill tab has been selected.
2. Use the Pattern Color drop-down list to select the color of your choice for your background.
3. Use the Pattern Style drop-down list to select the pattern of your choice.
4. Click on OK.

Cool stuff:  Because any pattern you select appears in the background of your cell, that means that it appears behind any information in that cell. So, if you combine patterns and pattern colors along with other formatting options, you can be very creative with special effects!