Alt H L S on Mac: Color Scales in Excel

To run Color Scales with Alt H L S in Excel on a Mac, install LightningXL, tap Option, then type H, L, S. The same keys as Windows, with the same result.

Step by step

1. Install LightningXL

   Download LightningXL, then follow the instructions. Setup takes about two minutes.

2. Select what to act on

   Click a cell, or select the range the command should apply to.

3. Tap Option, then type H L S

   Tap ⌥ on its own to show the key tips, then H for Home, L for Conditional Formatting, S for Color Scales.

What Alt H L S does

Color Scales sits under Home › Conditional Formatting on the Excel ribbon. On Windows, Alt H L S runs it from the keyboard. Excel for Mac has the same ribbon but no Alt key, so without LightningXL you click through Home › Conditional Formatting › Color Scales instead.

Related shortcuts

The rest of the Conditional Formatting menu in Excel:

• ⌥HLH Highlight Cells Rules
• ⌥HLT Top/Bottom Rules
• ⌥HLD Data Bars
• ⌥HLI Icon Sets
• ⌥HLN New Rule
• ⌥HLC Clear Rules
• ⌥HLR Manage Rules