Using the Total cell style in Excel

Trying to review a spreadsheet with unformatted data can be a real eye sore, but by using the Total cell style in Excel you can quickly give your data more context.

An example of using the Total cell style in Excel

Below we have a list of sales figures for several sales reps in a travel company. In just a few steps by applying the Total style helps the “Total” column of sales figures stand out.

Total cell style in Excel
Using a couple of Excel styles can make all the difference

1. Select the range of cells you wish to format. Goto the Home tab, then the Styles group. Then click on the “More” button the more button in Excel to expand the group. (for Excel 2013 & 2010 click on Cell Styles button, see the second screenshot below)

Using the Total cell style in Excel 2007
How to select Total option from style section
Using the Total cell style in Excel 2010
Selecting Cell Styles in Excel 2013 and 2010

2. Now within the Style options, under the section, “Titles and Headings” just select the Total option. The selected range of cells will now display the Total formatting.

In the example above, we also repeated these two steps for the row with “John”, and with one further twist, also included an additional style option under “Themed Cell Styles” which was to select a colour.

Tip: If you are experimenting with different styles you may wish to remove a cell style, to do this simply select the range of cells you wish to “reset”, then go to the Style group (within the Home tab) and select Normal from the “Normal, Bad, Good, Neutral” section.

how to remove a style in Excel
To remove a style, just hit the Normal button

What we have covered here is a simple demonstration of how using styles can lead to more engaging and professional-looking spreadsheets. You can even create your own custom cell styles which may contain multiple formatting options and can be a real time saver when dealing with similar spreadsheets.

Found this useful? Learn more about Excel cell styles:-

  • How To Use The Cell Styles Functionality In Excel 2010. Read more
  • How do you group a selection of styles on a workbook? Read more
  • A comprehensive guide to applying, creating and removing cell styles