Alternating colors for lines in Google docs spreadsheet

Question

I have a shared Google spreadsheet where several users have already filled out parts. It would be useful to have alternately colored lines to facilitate correct placement of additional data.

Is there a painless method option to alternately color (say, the cells given that already many of them contain text?

In an empty document, there would always be the "color 2 lines, copy-paste 2 lines, copy-paste 4 lines, etc." option, but in the current document, there is already text and some lines are still liable to be deleted which necessitates a recoloring later.

Answer 1

You can also use the paint format tool. Highlight the row after you've changed the color, click the icon that looks like a paint roller, then click the next row you want to change color too (as long as it's okay if the rest of the format of both those rows are the same.) It's annoying to have to do it repetitively, but it's slightly faster than selecting the color for each row.

• If you do this before adding data then the other format changes will go on top.

• The main problem with this method if you insert rows later it will offset everything unless you insert a pair of rows and format it the same.

hopefully Google will add formulas to conditional formatting soon.

Answer 2

I have posted a script to the Script Gallery called "Zebra Stripe Menu". If you add that to your spreadsheet, and make sure to open and close the script editor (there is a bug with recognizing the script). You will have a menu called "Zebra Stripes" and there you will find a couple of options for striping sheets and groups of cells. Some of the other options don't use Google best practices and can be very difficult to undo or stripe selections. If you find better tools, I'd love to hear about them.

Answer 3

There's currently no way for a formula to do this and no default Google feature.

However, there are a few third party scripts that will do this for you:

Installing the script

1. Open your spreadsheet
2. Click on Tools menu
3. Click on Script Gallery
4. Search for Zebra Stripe
5. Install
6. Read the warning (and if you agree go on)
7. Authorize

Executing the script

1. Click on Tools menu
2. Go to Script Manager...
3. Click on ZebraStripe
4. Click Run
5. Profit

• You'd have to edit the script to get the color you want
• It only affects the sheet you are currently looking at