Using cell fill color or shading to identify cells or standardize the appearance of similar cells is something that is commonly used in spreadsheet applications like Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets.
But removing formatting in these applications can be a little tricky when you weren’t the one that applied that formatting in the first place, so it’s possible that you are trying to figure out how to unhighlight a cell in Google Sheets so that you restore that cell to its default white cell shading.
How to Remove Shading from Cells in Google Sheets
- Sign in to your Google Drive and open the file with shading.
- Use your mouse to select the cells from which to clear the shading.
- Click the Fill color button in the toolbar.
- Select the Reset option.
Our guide continues below with additional information on how to unhighlight a cell in Google Sheets, including pictures of these steps.
Applying fill color to cells in Google Sheets is a good way to highlight important information.
But as data changes, or is moved to different locations, the highlighted cells may no longer be correct.
Luckily you can remove shading from cells in Google Sheets in a manner similar to how that shading was first applied.
Our guide below is going to show you how to remove highlighting in Google Sheets by selecting those cells and choosing an option on the Fill color menu.
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How to Clear Shading from Cells in Google Sheets (Guide with Pictures)
The steps in this article were performed in the desktop version of the Google Chrome Web browser, but will also work in other desktop browsers like Firefox or Edge.
Step 1: Sign in to your Google Drive at https://drive.google.com and open the Sheets file containing the shading to remove.
Step 2: Select the cells with the shading you want to remove.
Note that you can click the row numbers at the left or the column letters at the top to select entire rows or columns. You can also select multiple rows or columns by clicking the first one, then holding down the Shift key and clicking the last one.
Step 3: Select the Fill color button in the toolbar at the top of the sheet.
Step 4: Click the Reset button.
Now that you know how to unhighlight a cell in Google Sheets you will be able to fix issues related to cell shading that you encounter in the future.
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Matt Jacobs has been working as an IT consultant for small businesses since receiving his Master’s degree in 2003. While he still does some consulting work, his primary focus now is on creating technology support content for SupportYourTech.com.
His work can be found on many websites and focuses on topics such as Microsoft Office, Apple devices, Android devices, Photoshop, and more.