Automatically Highlight the Active or Selected Cell
This macro will highlight the active cell in any excel spreadsheet with a color selected in the code. This means that any cell you select will be highlighted in a way that fills the cell in with color. This will also highlight any selection of cells from one to as many as you select and once you click away the highlight will disappear. This is great for giving presentations of for showing someone how to do something in excel, but only for worksheets with not previously colored cells - see Note.
Note: Using this macro will not allow you to apply background color to any cells in the workbook where this is used. This means that you will not be able to assign colors to particular cells unless you remove the macro. Additionally, any previously colored cells that are clicked on when this macro is being used will lose all color after the active cell moves to another cell. This means you will quickly lose the color for cells in previously colored worksheets.
Note: This macro is to placed in the "
ThisWorkbook" section of the VBA window instead of in a separate module. You get to this window by typing "alt + F11" in excel and then look to the left side of the window to find the "ThisWorkbook" section.
Automatically Highlight the Active or Selected Cell
Sub Workbook_SheetSelectionChange(ByVal Sh As Object, ByVal Target As Excel.Range)
'Change the NUMBER in the line of code reading
'"Target.Interior.ColorIndex = 3 " in order to get a
'different color to highlight the active cell.
Static OldRange As Range
On Error Resume Next
Target.Interior.ColorIndex = 3
OldRange.Interior.ColorIndex = xlColorIndexNone
Set OldRange = Target
End Sub
How to Install the Macro
- Select and copy the text from within the grey box above.
- Open the Microsoft Excel file in which you would like the Macro to function.
- Press "Alt + F11" - This will open the Visual Basic Editor - Works for all Excel Versions.
Or For other ways to get there, Click Here.
For Excel Versions Prior to Excel 2007
Go to Tools > Macros > Visual Basic Editor
For Excel 2007
Go to Office Button > Excel Options > Popular > Click Show Developer tab in the Ribbon. Then go to the Developer tab on the ribbon menu and on the far left Click Visual Basic
- On the new window that opens up, go to the left side where the vertical pane is located. Locate your Excel file; it will be called VBAProject (YOUR FILE'S NAME HERE) and click this.
- If the Macro goes in a Module, Click Here, otherwise continue to Step 8.
- Go to the menu at the top of the window and click Insert > Module
- Another window should have opened within the Visual Basic Editor's window. Within this new window, paste the macro code. Make sure to paste the code underneath the last line of anything else that is in the window.
- Go to Step 8.
- If the Macro goes in the Workbook or ThisWorkbook, Click Here, otherwise continue to Step 8.
- Directly underneath your excel file called VBAProject(your file's name here), click the Microsoft Excel Objects folder icon to open that drop-down list.
- Then, at the bottom of the list that appears, double-click the ThisWorkbook text.
- A new window inside the Visual Basic Editor's window will appear. In this new window, paste the code for the macro. Make sure to paste this code underneath the last line of any other code which is already in the window.
- Go to Step 8.
- If the Macro goes in the Worksheet Code, Click Here, otherwise continue to Step 8.
- Directly underneath your excel file called VBAProject(your file's name here), click the Microsoft Excel Objects folder icon to open that drop-down list.
- Within the list that appears you will see every worksheet that is in that excel file. They will be listed as such: Sheet1(NAME OF SHEET HERE) and under that will be Sheet2(NAME OF SHEET HERE). Select the sheet in which you want the macro to run and double-click that sheet.
- A new window inside the Visual Basic Editor's window will appear. In this new window, paste the code for the macro. Make sure to paste this code underneath the last line of any other code which is already in the window.
- Repeat steps b and c for every sheet you want the macro to work in. Putting the macro in one sheet will not enable it for any other sheets in the workbook.
- Go to Step 8.
- Close the Microsoft Visual Basic Editor window and save the Excel file. When you close the Visual Basic Editor window, the regular Excel window will not close.
- You are now ready to run the macro.
