Excel automatically highlighting row and column

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Excel users on Windows 11 report an automatic green highlighting feature that activates when opening files, which some find annoying. This feature, known as "Focus Cell," can be toggled on or off via the View tab or by using the shortcut Alt + W + E + F. Discussions reveal that this built-in functionality may not be available in older versions of Excel, such as the 2019 Home version on Windows 10. Users express frustration over locating buttons and features, particularly when they are unfamiliar with their names. Overall, the conversation highlights the differences in Excel features across versions and the challenges users face in navigating them.
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Excel on Windows 11. My windows was "updated" yesterday. Now, when I open an excel file, I get this green highlighting. Anyone know how to turn this off? It really annoys me.
Thanks!

Example 1 (Cursor is in cell D9)
excel1.jpg


Example 2 (cursor in F12)
excel2.jpg
 
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https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365insiderblog/increase-ease-of-navigation-with-focus-cell-in-excel/4264531 said:
On the View tab, select Focus Cell button to toggle the feature on and off, or press Alt + W + E + F.
 
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Likes harborsparrow, jedishrfu and berkeman
Just so, @jack action Thanks so much. I searched on "excel highlight row and column" but all the hits I got were VBA recipes to make excel do the highlighting. Apparently enough people wanted to do this, that MS built it in at some point ("Focus Cell")
My biggest problem with excel is finding the right buttons, especially when I don't know the name of the button, lol.
 
@jack action -- Is that only on newer versions of Excel and Win11? I'm using an old 2019 Home version on Win10.
 
@berkeman Here's where I see it (Microsoft 365 on Win 11). Not sure if that will help you. Although as I mentioned above, there are lots of hits describing how to do the highlighting via VBA, so the built in feature must not have been available.

excel3.jpg
 
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