How to Get Cell Color in Excel (2 Methods)

While working with Excel, you can find colored cells. Sometimes, you may need to find a particular color of a cell. There are indexes and RGB values of any cell color. So, you may want to know the color index or RGB value. So that, you can use that in future. In this tutorial, we will show you how to get the color of any cell in Excel.

Overview

In the following image, you will find an overview of the whole article.

GET.CELL Function in Excel: Overview

We are using GET.CELL to return more information about the worksheet setting than is achievable with the CELL function. We don’t need any VBA code here to implement this.

The Basic Syntax:

type_num is a number that specifies what type of cell information you want.

The following list shows the possible values of type_num and the corresponding results.

One problem is that you cannot use the GET.CELL directly in the worksheet.

The steps are as stated below:

1. Go to Formulas >Name Manager. A Name Manager dialog box will appear.

2. Then, click on New.

3. Give it any name.

4. In the Refers to box, type the following format:

As we are working with background colors, we are using 63 in the type_num argument.

5. Finally, click OK.

Now, you can use the GET.CELL with the name that you have given.

Introduction to Color Index and RGB Values in Excel

Excel’s Color Palette has an index of 56 colors which you can use everywhere in your workbook. Each of these colors in the palette is connected with a unique value in the Color Index.

On the other hand, RGB (red, green, and blue) represents the colors on a computer display. We mix Red, green, and blue in various proportions to obtain any color in the visible color. The  R, G, and B values can range from 0 to 100 percent of full intensity. We represent it by the range of decimal numbers from 0 to 255 (256 levels for each color), equivalent to the range of binary numbers from 00000000 to 11111111, or hexadecimal 00 to FF. The total number of available colors is 256 x 256 x 256, or 16,777,216 possible colors.

How to Find Color Index and RGB Values?

We know there are 56 color indexes that you can use to format your cells. Now, this thing is tough to remember. To know more about Color Index, read more about Color Index Property.

On the other hand, you can find the RGB value of any color from Excel’s Home tab.

📌 Steps

1. First, go to the Home tab.

2. Then, click on the dropdown Fill Color > More Colors.

3. Click on Custom.

Here, you can find the RGB values of any color.

In the next section, we are providing you with two methods to implement in your dataset. The first one is using the GET.CELL method and the second one is using the VBA codes.

To demonstrate this tutorial, we are going to use this dataset:

Here, we have some colors in different cells. We will find those colors indexes and RGB values using these two methods.

1. Using GET.CELL Function to Get Cell Color in Excel

Now, we have already discussed the GET.CELL function earlier in this article. We are going to use it in our dataset.

📌 Steps

1. First, go to the Formula tab. Click on Name Manager. A Name Manager dialog box will appear.

2. Click on New.

3. Now, give it a name. We are using it as Background.

4. In the Refers to box, type the following formula:

5. Click on OK.

6. Now, in Cell B5, type =Background. 

7. Then, press Enter.

As you can see, it is showing you the color index. Now, repeat the same thing for every cell.

1.1. Showing Color Index of Left Cell

Now, the method above was to show the color in the colored cell. If you want to show the color index in left cells then follow the steps below:

📌 Steps

1. Go to the Name Manager again. Give this the name “getLeftColor”.

2. In the Refers to box, type the following formula:

3. Now, in Cell E5, type =getLeftColor. 

4. Then, press Enter.

5. Finally, drag the Fill Handle icon over the range of cells E6:E12.

As you can see, we have successfully found the color of the cell in another cell.

1.2. Showing Color Index of the Right Cell

If you want to show the color index in the right cells then follow the steps below:

📌Steps

1. Go to the Name Manager again. Give this the name “getRightColor”.

2. In the Refers to box, type the following formula:

3. Now, in Cell G5, type =getRightColor. 

4. Then, press Enter.

5. Finally, drag the Fill Handle icon over the range of cells G6:G12.

As you can see, we have successfully found the color of the cell in another cell.

Limitation to Use the GET.CELL Function:

If you change the color of the cell, the value won’t change. To solve this, press F9 on your keyboard to recalculate it again.

2. Using VBA Codes to Get Cell Color in Excel

If you know Excel’s VBA codes, this method will seem too easy for you. There are two VBA codes that you can use in your dataset. The first one is for indexes. The second one is for the RGB values.

2.1. VBA Code to Get Cell Color Index

Now, this method might not give you exact indexes like the previous one. But you can consider it as an index. I hope it will come in handy.

📌 Steps

1. First, press Alt+F11 on your keyboard to open the VBA editor.

2. Next, click on Insert > Module.

3. Type the following code:

Function ColorIn(color As Range) As Integer
ColorIn = color.Interior.ColorIndex
End Function

4. Save the file.

5. Now, in Cell B5, type the following formula :

6. Then, press Enter. It will show you the color index.

7. Finally, drag the Fill Handle icon over the range of cells B6:B12.

As you can see, we were successful in getting the color of the cell in Excel.

2.2. VBA Code to Get RGB Value of Cells

This method will help you find the RGB value of the cell. This method is more efficient than the previous one.

📌 Steps

1. First, press Alt+F11 on your keyboard to open the VBA editor.

2. Next, click on Insert > Module.

3. Type the following code:

Function FindColor(cell_range As Range, ByVal Format As String) As Variant
Dim ColorValue As Variant
ColorValue = Cells(cell_range.Row, cell_range.Column).Interior.color
Select Case LCase(Format)
Case "rgb"
FindColor = (ColorValue Mod 256) & ", " & ((ColorValue \ 256) Mod 256) & ", " & (ColorValue \ 65536)
Case Else
FindColor = "Use'RGB' as second argument!"
End Select
End Function

4. Save the file.

5. Now, in Cell B5, type the following formula :

6. Then, press Enter. It will show you the color index.

7. Finally, drag the Fill Handle icon over the range of cells B6:B12.

In the end, you will see the RGB values of all the cells.

💬 Things to Remember

✎  RGB values are the most used. In our opinion, you should always try to find RGB values.

✎  The color index doesn’t change after changing the cell color. Press F9 to recalculate.

Download Practice Workbook

Download this practice workbook.

Conclusion

To conclude, I hope this tutorial will help you to get the cell color in Excel. We recommend you learn and apply all these methods to your dataset. Download the practice workbook and try these yourself. Also, feel free to give feedback in the comment section. Your valuable feedback keeps us motivated to create tutorials like this.

Excel Get Cell Color: Knowledge Hub

• Excel If Cell Color Is Green
• Excel If Cell Color Is Red Then
• Excel Color Index Formula

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