One way you can do this is to use a very simple macro that does nothing but return a color index value:įunction GetFillColor(Rng As Range) As Long In other words, Excel allows you to use different shades of green and red, so you'll want to make sure that the RGB values and color index values used in the macros match those used by the color shades in your cells. Whether you are using the RGB approach or the color index approach, you'll want to check to make sure that the values used in the macros reflect the actual values used for the colors in the cells you are testing. If you prefer to check index colors instead of RGB colors, then the following variation will work:ĮlseIf = 4 Then You could use the function in a cell in this manner: This macro evaluates the RGB values of the colors in a cell, and returns a string based on those values. For instance, the following example returns one of the three words, based on the color in a target cell: The macro can check the color with which a cell is filled and then return a value.

The solution, then, is to use a user-defined function, which is (by definition) a macro.

The drawback to this approach, of course, is that it doesn't allow you to reference cells other than the one in which the formula is placed. The result is that you will see text based upon the color of the cell in which you place this formula. With this name defined, you can, in any cell, enter the following:

In the Refers To box, enter the following, as a single line:.

Use a name such as 'mycolor' (without the quote marks).

Excel displays the Define Name dialog box.

The closest non-macro solution is to create a name that determines colors, in this manner: Unfortunately, there is no way to acceptably accomplish this task without using macros, in one form or another. Steve prefers to not use a macro to do this. For example, if A1 has a green fill, he wants to return the word 'go', if it has a red fill, he wants to return the word 'stop', and if it is any other color return the word 'neither'. Steve would like to create an IF statement (using the worksheet function) based on the color of a cell.

Outlook conditional formatting if else