Excel wizards? Color fill calls used in formula?

[Mark Bolton]

Been trying to find a reasonably simple way to have all the cells used by a formula in a cell be fill colored a given color if that makes sense.

So say a sheet with 300 line items (rows) and then you have a cell with a simple SUM formula adding up 25 of the items that are scattered throughout the sheet. I was hoping for some way to color the cell with the forumla and have it automatically color any cells used in the formula. I can do it manually but was hoping for something automatic so if additional cells are added or removed from the formula it would just happen automatically.

The sheet is just a simple list of numerical values and on the side I have cells with total xyz, total pdq, total blah blah, pulling from items in the list. Id like to have each of the totals a given color and also color the cells that make up that total the same color.

Sorry for the ramble. Done a bunch of searching and so on with regards to conditional formatting and so on but coming up empty.

[roger wiegand]

Does this help? https://www.myonlinetraininghub.com/highlight-cells-referenced-excel-formulas

[Jim Barkelew]

Before I retired I used spread sheets to program CNC machines believe it or not. Unfortunately I don't remember a lot of things about cells. I worked with a few VB programmers and they could work magic with spread sheets and I think that's the solution. I never learned VB because Mike and Bill were a few yards away so I'm not much help.

Jim

[Don Coffman]

I used to write fluid flow, relief, and explosion venting programs in MS Excel, a board I used for tips/challenges was MrExcel, if I could not find a solution from the thousands of posts I would describe my need and within a couple days usually a couple different methods would be presented. https://www.mrexcel.com/board/

[Mark Bolton]

Does this help? https://www.myonlinetraininghub.com/highlight-cells-referenced-excel-formulas

Roger,
Thanks, Thats one of those I have read extensively. Im thinking the section pertaining to conditional formatting may be the solution but its a few (or like 50) rungs up the ladder from my brain capacity lol. Thanks though.

The trace dependents/precedents in that article work however even as you see them on that page, if you have even one, forget about many, toggled on its a chaotic spiderweb. Very handy for one or two at a time. I wish there were a option in there that instead of arrows allowed you to pick a color because thats exactly what Im trying to get.

Thanks for your time.

[roger wiegand]

Sorry, it sounded like it would do the right thing. I suspect the answer lies in writing a VBA script, which is, at this late date, above my pay grade. I've used conditional formatting, but only in relatively simple ways.

[Ralph Okonieski]

Mark,

Sent you a PM.