Other Principles of Financial Model Formatting Here are a few other examples of cell colors based on their categories and contents: We use a yellow background and grey border for “input cells” that are assumptions or drivers in the model, while we use a white background with no borders for historical financial data: If you follow these standards for color coding, your financial models should look like the examples below.

⌘ + F: Find How to Color Code in Excel: What Financial Models Should Look Like In the Mac version of Excel, you can use these shortcuts instead:į5 or Ctrl + G, Special, Constants: Select Constants (Drop the X if you want to highlight text constants)į5 or Ctrl + G, Special, Formulas: Select Formulas (Drop the X to highlight textual formulas) To find links to other files, search for “.xls” using Ctrl + F, and change the font color to red for each instance. To find direct links to other spreadsheets in the file, you can press Ctrl + F and search for the “!” character, which always indicates links to other sheets.

You can then press Ctrl + 1 to change their font color to blue, or you can access the font color commands from the “Home” tab in the ribbon menu. To find and select these cells, you can use the following PC/Windows shortcuts:į5, Alt + S, O, X: Select Constants (Drop the X if you want to highlight text constants)į5, Alt + S, F, X: Select Formulas (Drop the X to highlight textual formulas)įor example, if you press F5, Alt + S, O, X, that will highlight all constants on the spreadsheet. We use the following colors for different types of cells: We have some general guidelines for model formatting, but these are not like the laws of physics (gravity, momentum, speed of light, etc.) – they’re “rules of thumb” rather than “laws of nature.” How to Color Code in Excel: Key PC and Mac Shortcuts This sample lesson from our Excel/VBA course covers how to color code in Excel and some of the key principles for formatting financial models.ġ1:02: Demonstration of Walmart Model Fixesġ9:59: Exercise – Summary Spreadsheet Fixes

Excel shortcut keys fill color