Can you count coloured cells in excel

Count Colored Cells in Excel (Table of Contents)

• Introduction to Count Colored Cells in Excel
• How to Count Colored Cells in Excel?

Introduction to Count Colored Cells in Excel

We all are well aware of the fact that COUNT and COUNTIF functions are the ones that can be used to count the cells with numbers and cells that follow any specific criteria. Isn’t it being fancy to have a function which counts the colored cells? I mean something that counts different cells based on their color? Unfortunately, there is no such function directly available in Excel. However, we can use a combination of different functions to achieve the same. Thanks to the versatility of Microsoft Excel. Therefore, here are the methods using which we can count the number of colored cells in Excel.

• Using SUBTOTAL formula and color filters.
• Using COUNTIF and GET.CELL to count colored cells.

How to Count Colored Cells in Excel?

Let’s understand how to Count Colored Cells in Excel with a few examples.

You can download this Count Colored Cells Excel Template here – Count Colored Cells Excel Template

Example #1 – Using SUBTOTAL Formula and Color Filters

Suppose we have data of 1000 colored rows as shown below, and all we wanted is to find out the count of each color within the entire data. See the partial layout of the data given below:

Step 1: Go to cell F1002 to use the SUBTOTAL formula to capture the subtotal.

Step 2: Start typing the formula for SUBTOTAL inside the cell F1002. This formula has several function options within it. You can see the list as soon as the formula is active.

Step 3: Out of the list, you need to select function number 102 associated with the COUNT function. Use the mouse to drag towards function 102 and double click it to select.

Step 4: Use cells F1 to F10001 as a reference array within which the function COUNT will be used to count the cells. Fix the cell reference with the dollar sign, as shown in the screenshot below.

Step 5: Close the parentheses to complete the formula and press Enter key to see the output. You can see 1000 as a number in cell F1002.

Step 6: Now apply a filter to the entire data and use the Filter by Cell Color option to filter the data with cell colors. As soon as you filter a specific color, the value of the cell F1002 will change to the number of cells that are with that specific color. See the screenshots below.

You can see there are 419 cells which have the same color as filtered, i.e. light orange. You similarly can check the count of other colors as well.

This works fine because of the use of the COUNT function (102) within the SUBTOTAL as an argument. The COUNT function counts all the non-empty cells within the given range, and subtotal gives the total of the counts. If we apply a filter with any specific criteria, due to the nature of SUBTOTAL, we only get the total count associated with those criteria (in this case, color).

Example #2 – Using COUNTIF and GET.CELL

We can also use the COUNTIF and a GET.CELL function in combination to get the count of colored cells. GET.CELL is an old macro function which does not work with most of the functions. However, it has compatibility with named ranges. This function can extract the extra piece of information which a normal CELL function could not extract. We use this function to get information about the color of a cell. Follow the steps to know how we can count the cells with color using these two functions.

Step 1: Create a new named range ColorCode using the named ranges option within the Formulas tab.

Go to Formulas tab > inside Defined Names section, click on Define Name to be able to create a named range.

Step 2: A pop-up box with “New Name” will appear. Mention the name as ColorCode and within Refers to: section, use the formula as =GET.CELL(38,’Example #2′!$A2). Press OK after the amendments. Your named range will be completed and ready to use.

38 here is an operation number associated with GET.CELL. It is associated with an operation that captures the unique color numbers in Excel.

Rename column G as ColorCode, where we will capture the numeric codes associated with each color. These codes are unique for each color.

Step 3: In cell G2, start typing =ColorCode. This is the named range which we have just created in the previous step. Press Enter key to get a unique numeric code associated with the color of cell A2 (remember, while defining the named range, we used A2 as a reference from a sheet).

40 is the code associated with pink color in Excel.

Step 4: Drag and paste the formula across cell G3:G1001, and you’ll see different numbers, which are nothing but the color codes associated with each color. See the partial screenshot below.

Step 5: Now, we need to calculate what is the count of each color in the sheet. For this, we will use the COUNTIF function. Start typing =COUNTIF in cell B1003 of the given excel sheet.

Please note that we have colored the cell 1003:1006 with the colors we have used respectively in our example.

Step 6: Use column G as a range argument to this function and ColorCode named range as a criterion. Complete the formula by closing the parentheses and see the output in cell B1003.

After using the formula, the output is shown below.

Drag and paste this formula across the remaining cells and see the count of remaining colors.

In this article, we have seen the different methods which can be used to find out the count of colored cells. Let’s wrap the things with some points to be remembered.

Things to Remember About Count Colored Cells In Excel

• We don’t have any built-in function which can count the colored cells in the excel sheet. However, we can use a different combination of formulae to capture the same.
• The CELL function, which we use in the second example, gives more information related to a cell that the general CELL function can’t provide.
• Numeric code 102 we use under the SUBTOTAL function is a numeric code of COUNT function under it.

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This is a guide to Count Colored Cells in Excel. Here we discuss How to use Count Colored Cells in Excel along with practical examples and a downloadable excel template. You can also go through our other suggested articles –

1. Count Cells with Text in Excel
2. Count Characters in Excel
3. COUNTIFS in Excel
4. How to Add Cells in Excel

Top 3 Methods to Count Colored Cells In Excel

There is no built-in function to count colored cells in Excel, but below mentioned are three different methods to do this task.

1. Count colored cells by using the Auto Filter option
2. Count colored cells by using the VBA code
3. Count colored cells by using the FIND method

Now, let us discuss each of them in detail –

#1 – Excel Count Colored Cells By Using Auto Filter Option

For this example, let us look at the below data.

As we can see, each city is marked with different colors. So, we need to count the number of cities based on cell color.

As we can see, all the colors in the data. Now, we must choose the color that we want to filter.

Similarly, now we must choose other colors to get the count of the same.

So, blue-colored cells count to five now.

#2 – Excel Count Colored Cells by using VBA Code

VBA’s street smart techniques help us reduce time consumption at our workplace for some complicated issues.

We can reduce time, but we can also create our functions to fit our needs. For example, we can create a function to count cells based on color in one such function. Below is the VBA codeVBA code refers to a set of instructions written by the user in the Visual Basic Applications programming language on a Visual Basic Editor (VBE) to perform a specific task.read more to create a function to count cells based on color.

Code:

Function Color_Cell_Count(ColorCell As Range, DataRange As Range)

Dim Data_Range As Range
Dim Cell_Color As Long

Cell_Color = ColorCell.Interior.ColorIndex

For Each Data_Range In DataRange

If Data_Range.Interior.ColorIndex = Cell_Color Then
Color_Cell_Count = Color_Cell_Count + 1
End If

Next Data_Range

End Function

Then, copy and paste the above code to your module.

This code is not a SUB Procedure to run. Rather, it is a “User Defined FunctionUser Defined Function in VBA is a group of customized commands created to give out a certain result. It is a flexibility given to a user to design functions similar to those already provided in Excel.read more” (UDF).

The first line of the code “Color_Cell_Count” is the function name. Now, we must create three cells and color them as below.

Now, we must open the function “Color_Cell_Count” in the G2 cell.

Even though we do not see the syntax of this function, the first argument is what color we need to count, so we must select cell F2.

The second argument is to select the range of cells as D2:D19.

Now, close the bracket and press the “Enter” key. As a result, it will provide the count of cells with the selected cell color.

Like this, with the help of UDF in VBA, we can count cells based on cell color.

#3 – Excel Count Colored Cells by Using FIND Method

We can also count cells based on the FIND method as well.

• Step 1: First, we must select the range of cells where we need to count cells.

• Step 2: Now, we need to press Ctrl + F to open the FIND dialog box.

• Step 3: Now, click on “Options>>.”

• Step 4: Consequently, it will expand the “Find” dialog box. Now, we must click on the “Format” option.

• Step 5: Now, it will open up the “Find Format” dialog box. We need to click on the “Choose Format From Cell” option.

• Step 6: Now, move the mouse pointer to see the pointer to select the format cell in excelFormatting cells is an important technique to master because it makes any data presentable, crisp, and in the user’s preferred format. The formatting of the cell depends upon the nature of the data present.read more that we are looking to count.

• Step 7: We will select the cell formatted as the desired cell count. We have chosen the F2 cell as the desired cell format, and now we can see the preview.

• Step 8: Now, click on the “Find All” option to get the count of the selected cell format count of cells.

So, a total of 6 cells were found with selected formatting colors.

Things to Remember

• The provided VBA code is not a Subprocedure in VBASUB in VBA is a procedure which contains all the code which automatically gives the statement of end sub and the middle portion is used for coding. Sub statement can be both public and private and the name of the subprocedure is mandatory in VBA.read more; it is a UDF.
• The SUBTOTAL contains many formulas used to get the result only for visible cells when the filter is applied.
• We do not have any built-in function in Excel to count cells based on the color of the cell.

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This article has been a guide to Count Colored Cells in Excel. We learned to count colored cells using the auto filter option, VBA code, FIND method, and downloadable Excel template. You may learn more about Excel from the following articles: –

• Shade Alternate Rows in Excel
• Countif not Blank in Excel
• Count Rows in Excel
• Word Count in Excel

Count Colored Cells in Excel

Top 3 Methods to Count Colored Cells In Excel

There is no built-in function to count colored cells in Excel, but below mentioned are three different methods to do this task.

1. Count colored cells by using the Auto Filter option
2. Count colored cells by using the VBA code
3. Count colored cells by using the FIND method

Table of contents

Now, let us discuss each of them in detail –

#1 – Excel Count Colored Cells By Using Auto Filter Option

For this example, let us look at the below data.

As we can see, each city is marked with different colors. So, we need to count the number of cities based on cell color.

As we can see, all the colors in the data. Now, we must choose the color that we want to filter.

We must follow the below steps to count cells by color.

At the bottom of the data, we need to apply the SUBTOTAL function in Excel to count cells.

The SUBTOTAL function contains many formulas. It is helpful if we want to count, sum, and average only visible cell data. Under the heading PIN, we must click on the drop-down list filter and select Choose by Color.

As we can see, all the colors in the data. Now, we must choose the color that we want to filter.

Wow. As we can see in cell D21, our SUBTOTAL function is given the count of filtered cells as 6 instead of the previous result of 18.

Similarly, now we must choose other colors to get the count of the same.

So, blue-colored cells count to five now.

#2 – Excel Count Colored Cells by using VBA Code

VBA’s street smart techniques help us reduce time consumption at our workplace for some complicated issues.

We can reduce time, but we can also create our functions to fit our needs. For example, we can create a function to count cells based on color in one such function. Below is the VBA code VBA Code VBA code refers to a set of instructions written by the user in the Visual Basic Applications programming language on a Visual Basic Editor (VBE) to perform a specific task. read more to create a function to count cells based on color.

Code:

Then, copy and paste the above code to your module.

The first line of the code “Color_Cell_Count” is the function name. Now, we must create three cells and color them as below.

Now, we must open the function “Color_Cell_Count” in the G2 cell.

Even though we do not see the syntax of this function, the first argument is what color we need to count, so we must select cell F2.

The second argument is to select the range of cells as D2:D19.

Now, close the bracket and press the “Enter” key. As a result, it will provide the count of cells with the selected cell color.

Like this, with the help of UDF in VBA, we can count cells based on cell color.

#3 – Excel Count Colored Cells by Using FIND Method

We can also count cells based on the FIND method as well.

• Step 1: First, we must select the range of cells where we need to count cells.

• Step 2: Now, we need to press Ctrl + F to open the FIND dialog box.

• Step 3: Now, click on “Options>>.”

• Step 4: Consequently, it will expand the “Find” dialog box. Now, we must click on the “Format” option.

• Step 5: Now, it will open up the “Find Format” dialog box. We need to click on the “Choose Format From Cell” option.

• Step 6: Now, move the mouse pointer to see the pointer to select the format cell in excelFormat Cell In ExcelFormatting cells is an important technique to master because it makes any data presentable, crisp, and in the user’s preferred format. The formatting of the cell depends upon the nature of the data present.read more that we are looking to count.

• Step 7: We will select the cell formatted as the desired cell count. We have chosen the F2 cell as the desired cell format, and now we can see the preview.

• Step 8: Now, click on the “Find All” option to get the count of the selected cell format count of cells.

So, a total of 6 cells were found with selected formatting colors.

Things to Remember

• The provided VBA code is not a Subprocedure in VBASubprocedure In VBASUB in VBA is a procedure which contains all the code which automatically gives the statement of end sub and the middle portion is used for coding. Sub statement can be both public and private and the name of the subprocedure is mandatory in VBA.read more ; it is a UDF.
• The SUBTOTAL contains many formulas used to get the result only for visible cells when the filter is applied.
• We do not have any built-in function in Excel to count cells based on the color of the cell.

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This article has been a guide to Count Colored Cells in Excel. We learned to count colored cells using the auto filter option, VBA code, FIND method, and downloadable Excel template. You may learn more about Excel from the following articles: –

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How to Count Colored or Highlighted Cells in Excel

The COUNT function in Excel counts cells containing numbers in Excel. You cannot count colored or highlighted cells with the COUNT function. But you can follow a few workarounds to count colored cells in Excel. In this tutorial, you will learn how to count colored cells in Excel.

In excel, you can count highlighted cells using the following workarounds:

1. Applying SUBTOTAL and filtering the data
2. Using the COUNT and GET.CELL function
3. Using VBA

Using Subtotal and Filter functions

You can count highlighted cells in Excel by subtotaling the visible cells and applying a filter based on colors.

In this example, you have the sales record for eight salespersons for the month of July. The rows containing salespersons having sales less than $7000 is highlighted in red, the other cells with the salespersons having a bonus is highlighted in green. To calculate the number of salespersons highlighted in red:

• Select the cell C10.
• Assign the formula = SUBTOTAL(102, C2:C9) . The first argument 102 counts the visible cells in the specified range.

• Select cells A1:C9 by clicking on cell A1 and dragging it till C9 with your mouse.
• Go to Data > Sort & Filter > Filter.

• Click on the filter drop downs in C1.
• Go to Filter by Color and select the color Red to find out the salespersons highlighted in red.

This will output change the subtotal value to x, which is the number of salespersons having sales less than $7000.

Using COUNTIF and GET.CELL functions

You can use GET.CELL with named ranges to count colored cells in Excel. GET.CELL is an old Macro4 function and does not work with regular functions. However, it still works with named ranges. To count colored cells with GET.CELL, you need to extract the color codes with GET.CELL and count them to find out the number of cells highlighted in the same color. To count cells using GET.CELL and COUNTIF:

• In the dialogue box that pops up, set name as ColorCount, scope as workbook and Refers to as =GET.CELL(38, Sheet1!C2).

• Assign the formula =ColorCount to cell D2 and drag it till D9 with your mouse.

• This would return a number based on the background color. If there is no background color, Excel would return 0. Otherwise all cells with the same background color return the same number.

• From column D, look at the code for the color red. In this case it is 22.
• Select cell D10 and assign the formula = COUNTIF($D:$D, 22).

This will count the cells colored in red to find the number of salespersons with sales less than $7000 and return the number 3.

Using VBA

You can also create a custom function with VBA to count highlighted cells in Excel. To do that you need to create a custom function using VBA that works like a COUNTIF function and returns the number of cells for the same color.

You will follow the syntax: =CountFunction(CountColor, CountRange) and use it like other regular functions.Here CountColor is the color for which you want to count the cells. CountRange is the range in which you want to count the cells with the specified background color.

To count the cells highlighted in red, follow the steps below:

• Hold down the ALT + F11 keys, and it opens the Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications window.
• Click Insert >Module .

• Paste the following code in the Module Window.

• In this code, you are defining a function with two arguments rColor and rRange . You are going to save the value of the background color of A2 in lCol. Then you are going to run a FOR loop where, if the cell’s background color matches the color in lCol, you increment vResult . This function returns the value of vResult, which is the count of the cells having the same background color.
• Then save the code, and apply the following formula to cell C10:

• Here A2 is the cell with the background color red you want to count. C2:C10 is the cell range that you want to count.

This will return the number of salespersons with sales less than $7000 in the month of July which is 3.

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How to sum and count cells by color in Excel

by Svetlana Cheusheva, updated on January 20, 2023

In this article, you will learn new effective approaches to summing and counting cells in Excel by color. These solutions work for cells colored manually and with conditional formatting in all versions of Excel 2010 through Excel 365.

Even though Microsoft Excel has a variety of functions for different purposes, none can calculate cells based on their color. Aside from third-party tools, there is only one efficient solution — create your own functions. If you know very little about user-defined functions or have never heard of this term before, don’t panic. The functions are already written and tested by us. All you need to do is to insert them in your workbook 🙂

How to count cells by color in Excel

Below, you can see the codes of two custom functions (technically, these are called user-defined functions or UDF). The first one is purposed for counting cells with a specific fill color and the other — font color. Both are written by Alex, one of our best Excel gurus.

Custom functions to count by color in Excel

Once the functions are added to your workbook, they will do all work behind the scenes, and you can use them in the usual way, just like any other native Excel function. From the end-user perspective, the functions have the following look.

Count cells by fill color

To count cells with a particular background color, this is the function to use:

• Data_range is a range in which to count cells.
• Cell_color is a reference to the cell with the target fill color.

To count cells of a specific color in a given range, carry out these steps:

1. Insert the code of the CountCellsByColor function in your workbook.
2. In a cell where you want the result to appear, start typing the formula: =CountCellsByColor(
3. For the first argument, enter the range in which you want to count colored cells.
4. For the second argument, supply the cell with the target color.
5. Press the Enter key. Done!

For example, to find out how many cells in range B3:F24 have the same color as H3, the formula is:

In our sample dataset, the cells with values less than 150 are colored in yellow, and the cells with values higher than 350 in green. The function gets both counts with ease:

Count cells by font color

In case your cell values have different font colors, you can count them using this function:

• Data_range is a range in which to count cells.
• Font_color is a reference to the cell with the sample font color.

For example, to get the number of cells in B3:F24 whose values have the same font color as H3, the formula is:

=CountCellsByFontColor(B3:F24, H3)

Tip. If you’d like to name the functions differently, feel free to change the names directly in the code.

How to sum by color in Excel

To sum colored values, add the following two functions to your workbook. As with the previous example, the first one handles fill color and the other — font color.

Custom functions to sum by color in Excel

Sum values by cell color

To sum by fill color in Excel, this is function to use:

• Data_range is a range in which to sum values.
• Cell_color is a reference to the cell with the fill color of interest.

For example, to add up the values of all cells in B3:F24 that are shaded with the same color as H3, the formula is:

=SumCellsByColor(B3:F24, H3)

Sum values by font color

To sum numeric values with a specific font color, use this function:

• Data_range is a range in which to sum cells.
• Font_color is a reference to the cell with the target font color.

For instance, to add up all the values in cells B3:F24 with the same font color as the value in H3, the formula is:

=SumCellsByFontColor(B3:F24, H3)

Count and sum by color across entire workbook

To count and sum cells of a certain color in all sheets of a given workbook, we created two separate functions, which are named WbkCountByColor and WbkSumByColor, respectively. Here comes the code:

Custom functions to count and sum by color across workbook

Note. To make the functions’ code more compact, we refer to the two previously discussed functions that count and sum within a specified range. So, for the «workbook functions» to work, be sure to add the code of the CountCellsByColor and SumCellsByColor functions to your Excel too.

How to count colored cells in entire workbook

To find out how many cells of a particular color there are in all sheets of a given workbook, use this function:

The function takes just one argument — a reference to any cell filled with the color of interest. So, a real-life formula may look something like this:

Where A1 is the cell with the sample fill color.

How to sum colored cells in whole workbook

To get a total of values in all cells of the current workbook highlighted with a particular color, use this function:

Assuming the target color is in cell B1, the formula takes this form:

Count and sum conditionally formatted cells

The custom functions for adding up and counting color-coded cells are really nice, aren’t they? The problem is that they do not work for cells colored with conditional formatting, alas 🙁

To handle conditional formatting, we have written a different code (kudos to Alex again!). It works well with both preset formats and custom formula-based rules. Contrasting with the previous examples, this code is a macro, not a function. The macro counts and sums conditionally formatted cells by fill color. Please insert it in your VBA Editor, and then follow the below instructions.

VBA macro to count and sum conditionally formatted cells.

How to count and sum conditionally formatted cells using VBA macro

With the macro’s code inserted in your Excel, this is what you need to do:

1. Select one or more ranges where you want to count and sum colored cells. Make sure the selected range(s) contains numerical data.
2. Press Alt + F8 , select the SumCountByConditionalFormat macro in the list, and click Run.
3. A small dialog box will pop asking you to select a cell with the sample color. Do this and click OK.

For this example, we used the inbuilt Highlight Cell Rules and got the following results:

• Count (12) the number of cells in range B2:E22 with the same color as G3.
• Sum (1512) is the sum of values in cells formatted with Light Red Fill.
• Color is a hexadecimal color code of the sample cell.

Tip. The sample workbook with the SumCountByConditionalFormat macro is available for download at the end of this post.

How to get cell color in Excel

If you need (or are curious) to know the color of a specific cell (fill or font color), add the following user-defined functions to your Excel. It returns ColorIndex as a decimal number.

Custom functions to get the cell color

Note. The functions only work for colors applied manually, and not with conditional formatting.

Get fill color of a cell

To return a decimal code of the color a given cell is highlighted with, make use of this function:

For example, to get the color of cell A2, the formula is:

Get font color of a cell

To get a font color of a cell, use an analogous function:

For instance, to find the font color of cell E2, the formula is:

Get hexadecimal color code of a cell

To convert a decimal color index returned by our custom functions into a hexadecimal color code, make use of Excel’s native DEC2HEX function.

=»#»&DEC2HEX(GetFontColor(E2))

How to insert VBA code in your workbook

To add the function’s or macro’s code to your Excel, move on with these 4 steps:

1. In your workbook, press Alt + F11 to open Visual Basic Editor.
2. In the left pane, right-click on the workbook name, and then choose Insert >Module from the context menu.
3. In the Code window, insert the code of the desired function(s):
   • Count by color: CountCellsByColor and CountCellsByFontColor functions
   • Sum by color: SumCellsByColor and SumCellsByFontColor functions
   • Count and sum colored cells in whole workbook: WbkCountByColor and WbkSumByColor functions
   • Count and sum conditionally formatted cells: SumCountByConditionalFormat function
   • Get color code: GetCellColor and GetFontColor functions
4. Save your file as Macro-Enabled Workbook (.xlsm).

If you are not very comfortable with VBA, you can find the detailed step-by-step instructions and a handful of useful tips in this tutorial: How to insert and run VBA code in Excel.

How to get custom functions to update

When summing and counting color-coded cells in Excel, please keep in mind that your formulas won’t recalculate automatically after coloring a few more cells or changing existing colors. Please don’t be angry with us, this is not a bug in our code 🙂

The point is that changing cell color in Excel does not trigger worksheet recalculation. To get the formulas to update, press either F9 to recalculate all open workbooks or Shift + F9 to recalculate only the active sheet. Or just place the cursor into any cell and press F2, and then hit Enter. For more information, please see How to force recalculation in Excel.

Fastest way to calculate colored cells in Excel

If you do not want to waste time tinkering with VBA codes, I’m happy to introduce you to our very simple but powerful Count & Sum by Color tool. Together with 70+ other time-saving add-ins, it is included with Ultimate Suite for Excel.

Once installed, you will find it on the Ablebits Tools tab of your Excel ribbon:

And here is a short summary of what the Count & Sum by Color add-in can do:

• Count and sum cells by color in all versions of Excel 2016 — Excel 365.
• Find average, maximum and minimum values in the colored cells.
• Handle cells colored manually and with conditional formatting.
• Paste the results anywhere in a worksheet as values or formulas.

Sum and count cells by one color

Selecting the Sum & Count by One Color option will open the following pane in the left part of your worksheet. You specify the source range and sample cell, then then click Calculate.

The result will appear on the pane straight away! No macros, no formulas, no pain 🙂

Apart from count and sum, the add-in also shows Average, Max and Min for colored numbers. To insert a particular value in the sheet, click the Paste button next to it. Or click Paste All to have all the results inserted at once:

Count and sum all colored cells at once

To handle all colored cells at a time, choose the Sum & Count by All Color option. Basically, it works in the same way, except that instead of color, you choose the function to calculate.

Tip. To have the results inserted in the worksheet as formulas (custom functions), check the corresponding box at the bottom of the pane.

Well, calculating colored cells in Excel is pretty easy, isn’t it? Of course, if you have that little gem that makes the magic happen 🙂 Curious to see how our add-in will cope with your colored cells? The download link is right below.

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