Google Sheets users are facing an issue when they see a green line or cell with a green border after some cells. This could be problematic or just a case of bad conditional formatting. In some cases you can corrupt the dataset and you don’t want that. This post will guide you how to fix green cell or green line error in Google Sheets.
Why is Google suddenly highlighting these cells? Why is cell green in Google Spreadsheet? Why is there a green line after the cell? We will find out everything about it. There could be several reasons for this strange phenomenon and we will discuss them in this guide.
Let’s start.
1. Highlighted by Search
Searched for something in Google Sheets? Your browser or Sheets document will highlight the cell containing the value you’re looking for to make it easier for you to find it. Common Ctrl+F keyboard shortcut.
It is also possible that the search bar is not visible, but it searches in the background and the cell is highlighted. Check the browser search and clear it immediately.
2. Open the File Elsewhere
Do you see a green border around a particular cell? The cell is not filled with color here. This is an indication that the same document is open on a different device or the same device, but in a different browser tab. Find where it is and close the duplicate instance.
It can be your smartphone or your office laptop. This can happen even if no one else is using or accessing the file.
3. Turn Off the Filter
The filter option will allow you to extract some meaning from all the data you enter. You can sort them by various parameters. It will also highlight the cell in green. Did you accidentally set the filter?
Select the highlighted cell, click the Data menu and select Turn off filter.
4. Conditional Formatting
Conditional formatting lets you format cells or even entire rows and columns based on your input. It follows the cause and effect formula. A typical example would be to highlight a cell. For example, flip all cells with the alphabet ‘a’ (reason) green (effect) as shown in the screenshot below. I know it’s basic, but that’s pretty much how it works.
Stage 1: Choose Conditional formatting from the Format menu.
Step 2: Check if there is any formatting set for the cell that turns green and remove it if you find it.
You will see a Delete icon next to each conditional formatting rule. Delete the rule and check if you see any green cells or lines.
5. Alternative Colors
You can also format headers and footers in Sheets. In this case, only the first or last cells should be highlighted in green.
Stage 1: Click Format and select Alternate colors.
Step 2: Click Remove changing colors at the bottom of the right sidebar that opens. You can also customize it if you want.
Bonus Tip: Protected Cells
Here’s a bonus tip to ensure you don’t run into this issue in the future where cells turn green in Google Sheets or see a green line after a random cell.
Sometimes you press the wrong keyboard shortcut and you mess things up. To avoid such situations, simply lock the cell range.
Stage 1: Select the range of cells you want to protect from further changes. Right-click on the selected range of cells and select Keep range.
Step 2: You can enter the description to remember why you locked the cell range. If you’re sharing the Page with others, they’ll know what they don’t have to do. Now click on Permissions.
Stage 3: You can choose to display a warning message when someone tries to edit the range of cells. This is entirely up to you.
You can also set permissions for who can edit the protected range of cells. What else? You can also copy permissions from other cell ranges you previously protected from the drop-down menu. Just select ‘Copy permissions from another range’. Click Done to save the changes.
God’s Green World
Google Sheets is a powerful spreadsheet application. While perhaps not as versatile as Microsoft’s Excel, Sheets is good enough for most users. Add a few add-ons and extensions to the mix and you’re looking at a tough opponent. New to Google Sheets? We’ve covered Google Sheets tips and tricks in detail.
The green cell or row error in your Sheets document should be fixed with the solutions mentioned above. If you found another way to fix this problem, share it with us in the comments section below.
Next: Are you a small business owner? Here are some of the best Google Sheets templates for creating free invoices. Be thrifty in these difficult times.
