For a lengthy list, shading alternate rows can improve legibility. This is simple to do with Excel's Conditional Formatting feature, which allows you to apply cell shading (green or otherwise) to every other row in a worksheet range. Here is how it is done:


  1. Highlight the range of cells or rows or columns that you want to format.
  2. Choose Format, Conditional Formatting to display the Conditional Formatting dialog box.
  3. Select New Rule and then select "Use a formula to determine which cells to format." 
  4. Enter =MOD(ROW(),2)=0 into the "Format values where this formula is true."
  5. Click the Format button to bring up the Format Cells dialog box and select the Patterns tab and specify a color for the shaded rows. 




After clicking OK, the rows will be formatted in the color of your choice. You'll probably want to choose a light color, so that the default black text will still be legible, but you can also choose to change the text color if you wish.