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![](data:image/svg+xml, %3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' height='64' class='font-weight-bold' style='font: 600 30.11764705882353px "SegoeUI", Arial' width='64'%3E%3Ccircle fill='hsl(128, 8%, 22%)' cx='32' cy='32' r='32' /%3E%3Ctext x='50%25' y='55%25' dominant-baseline='middle' text-anchor='middle' fill='%23FFF' %3EA%3C/text%3E%3C/svg%3E)
I just had Microsoft Office professional plus installed into a new lap top. I can change the font color while working in a cell but it is changed back when I click off the cell. When I am working in the cell it shows the color I chose but when I am clicked off the cell it changes back to black. In addition I cannot change the fill color of the cells. The button to change the fill color allows me to choose a color but it does not change it in the sheet. The same with the tab colors on the bottom. Excel allows me to chose a color but does not change the tab color. I thought it might be a protection setting but it does not have the unprotect button available. In addition when I chose the sheet protection it asks me for a password to unprotect the worksheet but I do not have one as I have never protected it. Also the ribbon for excel and word the circle button is in black and white and the tab colors are white.
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Answer accepted by question author
Is it happening with only one Excel sheet? If yes,
In the Ribbon under home click on ‘Clear’ and ‘clear format’ which will clear all formats and then try again.
If it is happening with all the Excel files, check the start up items.
Check the same in other Office applications.
Check the articles below, might be helpful.
I have exactly the same problem - and many others with the new system - but the simple requirement to change the text colour shouldn't create difficulties. I'd like to have some guidance in regard to this and would appreciate advice that works! Thanks.
When I had this problem, I discovered that it was because I had set my computer accessibility to "high contrast" settings, in Control Panel, under "Ease of Access". The "high contrast" setting is intended to enhance visibility for those who have issues with vision (which I sometimes do), and overrides all other color/display settings.
this advice is not helpful. clearing format didn't fix it.
Hello, Jennifer! I have Office 365 installed, and the same problem was happening to me. Whenever I highlighted a cell, I was able to change the color/add bold and italicize, but the cell reverted to black, normal text after I selected another cell.
Although I'm not sure if this is a solution, I've found that Excel will allow you to do these things as long as there is at least one letter selected as well. So, if your spreadsheet represents minutes, for example, you could write "35 minutes" instead of "35" and Excel would allow you to change the font color of the former. I hope this helped!