Apply cell formatting and table formatting in Excel

Cell formatting and table formatting in Excel are tools used to change the appearance and style of cells and tables in your worksheet. You can use formatting to your advantage by improving readability, emphasizing important information, and using the branded look (such as colors and fonts) that your organization uses.

Apply a cell format in Excel

1. Click on the cell, or cells, that you want to format.
2. Then click on the Cell styles button. You can find the button in the menu under Home, in the Styles section. It is the bottom button of the three buttons.
3. In the menu that appears under the button, you will see all predefined cell formats in the current workbook. The options are based on the document's theme colors. In this example, you can click on Heading 4.
4. By selecting one of the predefined cell formats, the format will be applied to the cell you have selected.

Apply a table format in Excel

1. Try applying a table format by selecting the data you want to turn into a table.
2. Click on the Format as table button. You can find the button in the menu under Home, in the Styles section. It is the bottom button of the three buttons.
3. In the menu that appears under the button, you will see all predefined table formats in the current workbook. The options are based on the document's theme colors. In this example, you can choose the style with striped rows.
4. In the dialog box that appears on the screen, named Create table/Skapa tabell, click Ok to confirm the cells to be included in the table. You can also check if the table has headers by selecting My table has headers. After clicking Ok, the table format will be applied to the data you initially selected.

Apply a copied cell format in Excel

1. Try copying the cell format by clicking on the header.
2. Click on the Format painter button in the menu, under Home, in the Clipboard section. The button looks like a paintbrush.
3. Click on the content where you want to apply the copied cell format. Remember that you can only apply the format once. Tip: If you double-click Format painter, you can apply your chosen format unlimited times until you press Esc on the keyboard.
4. In this example, you can select the table again.
5. Click on the Format painter button in the menu, under Home, in the Clipboard section.
6. Select the area where you want to apply the format.