Excel Add-In

Highlight Selection

Highlights selected cells when Excel loses focus

Try free version

Or purchase full version below.

Info#

Caveats #

Please beware that anytime a cell is highlighted you will lose your Edit history (Undo / Redo arrows).

Best way to avoid any unintentional loss of history is to keep at least 2 cells as the Minimum cell limit. This will allow you to have better control of what gets highlighted without the need to keep turning highlighting On and Off.

This is not a bug but a feature of Excel. Anytime any Add-In changes anything the Edit history is cleared.

Compatibility #

Compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit versions of:

  • Excel 2007
  • Excel 2010
  • Excel 2013

on Windows. Version 4.0 or higher of .NET Framework is needed.

Currently there is no version for Excel prior 2007 version. If compatibility with these older versions is a necessity for you and/or if you are willing to help with testing, please contact me.

Settings#

Highlighting

Enable Highlighting Enabled
Starts and stops the highlighting
The value in settings file is true or false
Highlighting ColorBorderColor
Choose a border color for the highlighted cells
Although the dialog shows only 15 colors you can actually use any of the known colors from .Net Framework. Simply open the settings file and edit the value of BorderColor

Cell Limits

Min MinCells
Minimum number of selected cells to start highlighting.
This number has to be lower than MaxCells and defaults to 1.
Max MaxCells
Maximum number of selected cells that will be highlighted
Due to performance issues the maximum number allowed is 200.
This number has to be higher than MinCells and defaults to MinCells.

Settings file #

The settings file is called HighlightSelectionAddinSettings.xml and it is stored in folder C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\.

These settings are loaded only when Excel launches, so make any changes beforehand.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<MyConfig xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">
	<BorderColor>Orange</BorderColor>
	<MinCells>2</MinCells>
	<MaxCells>50</MaxCells>
	<Enabled>true</Enabled>
</MyConfig>

Screenshots#

Overview

Settings

Colors

Purchase#

Personal

$2.00

  • Personal Use
  • Commercial Use
  • Email Support (limited only)
Purchase

Professional

$3.00

  • Personal Use
  • Commercial Use
  • (Priority) Email Support
Purchase

For requests about bulk purchases and company-wide or source code licensing please contact me

Purchases are handled through FastSpring.com

  • Licenses are per user and valid for use on all supported operating systems. You can install this add-in on multiple computers and operating systems, provided the license holder is the primary user.
  • Businesses must purchase at least as many licenses as the number of people using this add-in.
  • Both licenses are valid for an unlimited time.

Installation#

1. Extract Downloaded File#

Extract the downloaded archive to a folder where you want keep the add-in.

2. Go to Options in Excel#

Open Excel and go to File → Options → Add-Ins.

In case you only see recent files and available templates upon launching Excel select Blank workbook template to reveal the File button.

3. Manage Add-Ins#

In the Add-Ins tab you can see all your active and inactive Add-Ins. Now on the bottom choose Excel Add-Ins unless it is already selected and click Go....

4. Select Add-In File#

In the new Add-Ins window click Browse... and navigate to the folder where you extracted the downloaded archive. Depending on you Excel version select the correct .xll file:

  • 32-bit Excel → HighlightSelectionAddin.xll
  • 64-bit Excel → HighlightSelectionAddin64.xll

5. Try the Add-In#

Now that the Add-In is loaded you should see its settings in Add-Ins Ribbon tab.

Uninstallation#

1. Add-Ins Window#

Follow the same steps as in the installation guide to reach the Add-Ins window

File → Options → Add-Ins → Manage Excel Add-ins → Go...

2. Uncheck the Add-In#

Here simply uncheck the Highlight Selection Add-In from the Available Add-Ins list.

3. Delete Settings File#

Delete the settings file called HighlightSelectionAddinSettings.xml which is stored in folder C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\.

Changelog#

1.1a 21.7.2014

Performance improvements

11.7.2014

Added Free Version

1.1 19.5.2014

Added Cell Limits

Better UI for selecting colors

Disabled highlighting when in Copy/Cut mode

1.0 24.4.2014

Initial release