All shortcuts
Font Color in Google Sheets
Windows
Alt→H→F→C
Mac
Option→H→F→C
Finance formatting conventions live and die by font color: blue for hardcoded inputs, black for formulas. In Excel that’s Alt H F C without breaking flow. Sheets makes you mouse to the toolbar.
XLKeys restores the sequence: Alt H F C opens a font color picker in Google Sheets (free), and Ctrl + ’ cycles the selection through standard font colors even faster (a Pro feature).
Excel vs. Google Sheets vs. XLKeys
| Where | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Excel | Alt→H→F→C |
| Google Sheets (native) | No keyboard shortcut |
| Google Sheets + XLKeys | Alt→H→F→C |
Google Sheets offers no keyboard route to font color — toolbar only.
How to use it
- Select the cells to recolor.
- Press Alt, release it, then type H, F, C to open the font color picker.
- Pick a color and confirm.
- Or press Ctrl + ’ repeatedly to cycle through font colors directly (Pro).
Frequently asked questions
Related shortcuts
Make Google Sheets feel like Excel
Install XLKeys to use font color and 150+ other Excel-style shortcuts, Alt-key sequences, formula auditing, Goal Seek, Sensitivity Tables, and Workbook Health audits in Google Sheets.