Highlight the active row, column or cell in Google Sheets and Excel. Pick any color, per-spreadsheet and per-tab settings.
Users
191
+184 in 30 days
Rating
5.0 / 5
+5.00 in 30 days
Ratings
2
+2 in 30 days
Store rank
#65K
#55K among extensions
Version
1.0.1
updated 9 Oct 2026
Users
monthly, 1 months
Latest, 17 Oct 2026:191 usersMove the mouse over the chart for any month
Ratings count
monthly, 1 months
Latest, 17 Oct 2026:2 ratingsMove the mouse over the chart for any month
The Chrome Web Store rounds user counts down to the leading digit, so the user line moves in steps. The ratings count is exact and is the better signal of real adoption.
About Cell Row Column Highlighter for Spreadsheets
Never lose your place in a wide spreadsheet again.
Cell Row Column Highlighter shades the row, column or cell you are working
in, in Google Sheets and Excel for the web.
It draws a focus crosshair on top of the page — it never writes to your
file, and it never changes your data.
---
Version 1.0.1
The highlight now steps aside for pop-ups. Open a note, a comment or a link
preview and the bands break cleanly around it instead of running underneath,
so you can read what's on top. This works in every mode, including outlined.
Thanks to Sam S for reporting this one.
A note on Excel for the web: Google Sheets is where most of the testing
happens, so Excel may still have rough edges we haven't run into. If you spot
something, tell me and I'll get on it - reports like Sam's and Johnny's are how this extension gets better.
---
WHAT IT DOES
• Highlight the row, the column, both as a crosshair, or just the active cell
- based on what you choose!
• Active cell only mode marks the selected cell or range, and stays visible on
top of the spreadsheet's own selection tint
• Choose how the cell you're editing is treated where the bands cross it —
tinted, left clear, or outlined
• Choose any color — hex input, native color picker, or one-click presets
• Adjust opacity, or switch to an outline instead of a fill so your own cell
colors stay untouched
SETTINGS SCOPED THE WAY YOU WORK
Apply one look to all spreadsheets, to a single spreadsheet, or to individual
tabs. A checklist lets you pick exactly which tabs get highlighted. Each
spreadsheet remembers its own scope, so switching files restores that file's
choice instead of carrying the last one over.
CHANGES LAND INSTANTLY
Move a slider or pick a color and the sheet repaints live — no refreshing, no
losing your place. If something ever looks off, a quick page reload sorts out
almost anything.
A SIDE PANEL, NOT A POPUP
The controls open in Chrome's side panel and stay open while you work, so you
see each adjustment land instead of reopening a menu to tweak it.
WORKS IN EXCEL FOR THE WEB
Not just Google Sheets. Every mode is built for both Google Sheets™ and Microsoft Excel for the web, including at zoomed-in and zoomed-out view levels. The highlight survives Excel's ribbon and pane relayouts, and multi-range selections merge into clean bands instead of stacking into darker patches.
PRIVACY
The extension never reads your cell contents. There are no servers, no network requests of any kind in its code, and your settings
stay on your own device.
PERMISSIONS AND WHY
Two, and neither touches your data:
• Storage — save your highlight preferences on your device
• Side panel — show the settings panel
That is the whole list. The extension declares no host permissions. Its
highlighting runs only on Google Sheets and Excel for the web, as set in the
extension itself, and it can reach nothing else.
If a spreadsheet was already open when you installed or updated, reload that
page once. Anything you open afterwards just works.
Built by SheetCity. Questions or a bug to report:
https://sheetcity.com/contact/?ref=crch_store
Growth
Window
Users
Change
Ratings
Rating
7 days
+77
+67.5%
0
0.00
30 days
+184
+2628.6%
+2
+5.00
Chrome Web Store search rankings
Where Cell Row Column Highlighter for Spreadsheets appears when people search the store, with the 30 day change