How To Remove Alternating Colors in Google Sheets: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide

If you frequently work with spreadsheets, there’s a good chance you’ve used the “Alternating colors” feature in Google Sheets to make your data easier to read. While this formatting option is helpful for organizing large datasets, many users later decide they want to remove it—especially when preparing sheets for printing, exporting, or redesigning. Learning how to remove alternating colors in Google Sheets is essential for maintaining clean, consistent formatting and ensuring your spreadsheet looks exactly the way you want.

Removing alternating color formatting may seem simple, but many users accidentally remove other formatting or struggle to restore the sheet’s original appearance. In this in-depth guide, you’ll learn multiple methods, practical tips, advanced formatting controls, and troubleshooting steps for cleanly removing alternating colors without affecting your data or layout.

We’ll also cover common issues, automation options, and FAQs. This detailed walkthrough will help both beginners and advanced users streamline their spreadsheet formatting while improving organization and productivity. Whether you're redesigning a data report or preparing a clean template, mastering this process will enhance your Google Sheets workflow.

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What Are Alternating Colors in Google Sheets?

Alternating colors in Google Sheets is a formatting feature that applies different background colors to every other row. It enhances readability by helping your eyes track information across wide datasets. This is especially helpful in financial reports, inventory sheets, attendance logs, and any spreadsheet containing long lists.

Google Sheets creates a lightweight table-like appearance using two alternating shades, along with optional header and footer styling. While useful, these colors are not always ideal for printing or exporting, and they may interfere with custom branding or conditional formatting rules.

Why Users Want to Remove Alternating Colors

Before learning how to remove alternating colors in Google Sheets, it’s helpful to understand the most common reasons users disable this feature:

• Preparing for printing: Alternating colors may look good on-screen but waste ink or become unclear on black-and-white printers.
• Custom design: You may want your own color scheme or theme instead of Google’s preset options.
• Removing conflicts: Alternating colors override manual cell fills and other formatting rules.
• Import/export cleanup: When sharing with clients or teammates, a clean layout is often preferred.
• Data standardization: Sometimes uniform formatting is required in professional documentation.

Understanding the reason behind the change helps ensure you choose the right removal method.

How To Remove Alternating Colors in Google Sheets (Method 1 — Using the Alternating Colors Panel)

The simplest and most direct method to remove alternating colors is through the same panel where the formatting was originally applied.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Select the range of cells that currently have alternating colors.
2. Go to the top menu and click Format.
3. In the dropdown menu, choose Alternating colors.
4. The right sidebar will appear. At the bottom, click Remove alternating colors.

This instantly removes all alternating background colors and restores cells to their default formatting.

Why This Works Best

This method removes only the alternating color format while preserving:

• text formatting
• borders
• merged cells
• conditional formatting

It is the safest method for maintaining your sheet’s structural design.

Method 2 — Clear Formatting (Useful for Full Reset)

If you want to not only remove alternating colors but also reset fonts, borders, and text size, use the “Clear formatting” tool.

Steps:

1. Select the cells where alternating colors appear.
2. Go to Format.
3. Click Clear formatting.
4. Or simply press Ctrl + \ (Windows) or Cmd + \ (Mac).

This method resets everything, returning cells to default Google Sheets formatting. Use this only if you want a complete cleanup.

When to Use Clear Formatting

• when preparing a blank template
• when removing legacy styling from imported Excel files
• when dealing with overly complicated formatting layers

Method 3 — Manually Removing Background Colors

If the alternating colors were applied manually instead of through the alternating color tool, the sidebar method will not work. Instead, remove the background colors manually.

Steps:

1. Select the range of colored cells.
2. Go to the toolbar and click the Fill color icon (paint bucket).
3. Choose Reset or None (white).

This method gives you full control but requires more manual effort.

Method 4 — Using Conditional Formatting Cleanup

Sometimes alternating colors come from conditional formatting rules rather than the alternating color panel. These need to be removed separately.

Steps:

1. Select the cells.
2. Go to Format → Conditional formatting.
3. Look for rules affecting cell background colors (e.g., "Format every other row").
4. Click the trash icon to delete unwanted rules.

After deleting the rule, your alternating colors will disappear instantly.

How To Remove Alternating Colors Across the Entire Sheet

If alternating colors appear in many sections of your sheet—or if you’re unsure where they were applied—you can remove them from the entire sheet at once.

Steps:

1. Click the small square at the top-left corner of the grid to select the entire sheet.
2. Go to Format → Alternating colors.
3. Select Remove alternating colors.

This ensures your sheet has no hidden alternating color formatting left anywhere.

How To Remove Alternating Colors Without Affecting Header Styles

Google Sheets sometimes treats header rows separately. To remove alternating colors but keep header formatting:

1. Open the “Alternating colors” panel.
2. Uncheck the Header option.
3. Apply changes.
4. Now click Remove alternating colors.

This restores a standard white grid while preserving your header designs.

Advanced Tips for Managing Colors in Google Sheets

1. Use Themes to Standardize Colors

If alternating colors clash with your branding, switch your sheet to a new theme:

1. Go to Format → Theme.
2. Select or customize a theme.

2. Use Conditional Formatting Instead

For more advanced alternating styles, use formulas like:

=ISEVEN(ROW())

or

=ISODD(ROW())

These allow deeper customization than Google’s preset alternating color tool.

3. Use the Paint Format Tool to Quickly Remove Colors

Copy formatting from a clean cell using the paint roller icon and apply it across your sheet.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. Why can’t I remove alternating colors in Google Sheets?

You may be trying to remove manually colored rows or conditional formatting. Use the “Clear formatting” or conditional formatting removal methods instead.

2. Does removing alternating colors delete my data?

No. Alternating colors affect only background formatting and do not modify text or values.

3. Can I remove alternating colors from multiple sheets at once?

Google Sheets does not support multi-sheet formatting removal. You must repeat the steps for each sheet.

4. Why do alternating colors reappear after removal?

This may happen if a conditional formatting rule is still active. Delete the rule under Format → Conditional formatting.

5. Can I customize alternating colors instead of removing them?

Yes. You can change both colors, header styles, and footer styles through the “Alternating colors” sidebar.

Conclusion

Understanding how to remove alternating colors in Google Sheets is essential for maintaining clean, professional-looking spreadsheets. Whether you’re preparing a report, sharing documents with clients, or simply cleaning up your personal files, removing alternating colors helps ensure clarity and consistency. With the methods outlined in this guide—from using the built-in Alternating Colors panel to clearing formatting or adjusting conditional rules—you now have complete control over your sheet's appearance.

Use these techniques to streamline your workflow and make your Google Sheets documents more polished and visually appealing.