Hey everyone! I’m trying to tweak the colors in my custom number format for percentages in Google Sheets. Right now, I’ve got this setup:
[Green]#,##0.0%;[Red](#,##0.0%)
It shows positive numbers in green and negative ones in red parentheses. Like this:
Positive: 87,654.3% (green)
Negative: (87,654.3%) (red)
The thing is, I want the green to be a bit darker. I’ve tried a bunch of stuff like [Dark Green], [Dark_Green], and even [#00ff00], but nothing seems to work.
Does anyone know how to use darker shades or specific color codes in these custom number formats? I’d really appreciate any tips or tricks you might have! Thanks in advance for your help!
hey mate, i feel ur pain with the color stuff. sheets can be a real pain sometimes. have u tried using conditional formatting instead? it’s not perfect, but u can set rules for positive and negative numbers and pick any color u want. might be worth a shot if ur really set on that darker green!
While Google Sheets is quite versatile, it does have limitations when it comes to custom number formatting colors. I’ve found that the built-in color options are indeed quite restrictive.
A potential solution you might consider is using Apps Script to create a custom function. This function could apply the formatting you desire programmatically. It would involve writing a bit of code, but it allows for much greater control over colors and formatting.
You’d essentially create a function that checks the cell value, applies the appropriate color, and formats the number as a percentage. This method gives you access to the full range of color codes, including darker shades of green.
It’s a more advanced approach, but it offers the flexibility you’re looking for in terms of color customization. If you’re comfortable with basic scripting, it might be worth exploring this option.
I’ve faced a similar challenge with color customization in Google Sheets. Unfortunately, Google Sheets doesn’t support hex codes or custom color names in number formatting like Excel does. The color options are pretty limited.
One workaround I’ve found is to use conditional formatting instead. You can set up rules to apply darker green for positive values and a specific shade of red for negatives. This gives you much more control over the exact colors.
For your case, you could keep the number format as is:
#,##0.0%;(#,##0.0%)
Then add conditional formatting rules:
Format cells if… ‘Greater than’ 0
Format cells if… ‘Less than’ 0
This way, you can pick any shade of green and red from the color palette. It’s a bit more setup, but it offers way more flexibility for customizing colors.