How-to · Updated 2026-10-18

Fill Color and Font Color Shortcuts in Google Sheets

Google Sheets has no built-in key for cell or text color. Here are the keyboard-only ways to color cells, and how to get Excel's Alt, H, H back.

Short answer

Google Sheets has no built-in keyboard shortcut for fill color or font color. Google's official shortcut list (checked 2026-10-18) covers bold, borders, alignment and number formats, but not cell or text color. That's why Excel users pressing Alt, H, H in Sheets get the Help menu instead of the fill palette.

You have three keyboard-only options:

Tool finder: select cells, press Alt+/, type “fill color” and press Enter. Free and built in, but it takes several keystrokes every time.
A macro: record one that applies a single fixed color and give it a Ctrl+Alt+Shift+number shortcut. Good for one house highlight color.
A Chrome extension: SheetSpeed (free) brings back Excel's Alt, H, H and Alt, H, F, C and opens Google's own palettes ready for the arrow keys.

We make SheetSpeed, so weigh our take accordingly. The first two options need nothing installed.

Jump to: Short answer · Excel vs Sheets keys · Without an extension · With SheetSpeed · Mac · FAQ

Excel color shortcuts vs Google Sheets

Action	Excel (Windows)	Google Sheets, built in	With SheetSpeed (free)
Fill color (cell background)	`Alt`, `H`, `H`	No shortcut. Toolbar paint bucket, or `Alt`+`/` and type “fill color”	`Alt`, `H`, `H`
Font color (text color)	`Alt`, `H`, `F`, `C`	No shortcut. Toolbar A button, or `Alt`+`/` and type “text color”	`Alt`, `H`, `F`, `C` or `Alt`, `F`, `C`
Custom color (hex)	`Alt`, `H`, `H`, `M` or `Alt`, `H`, `F`, `C`, `M`	Palette → + (Custom)	Press `C` inside the palette, or `Alt`, `H`, `C`, `M` for a custom font color
Clear formatting	`Alt`, `H`, `E`, `F`	`Ctrl`+`\`	`Alt`, `H`, `E`, `F` or `Ctrl`+`\`
One fixed color on a key	Quick Access Toolbar or macro	Macro on `Ctrl`+`Alt`+`Shift`+`1`–`0`	Use a Sheets macro (below)

Alt, H, H means press and release each key in turn, as on Excel's ribbon. Ctrl+\ means hold both keys.

How to change fill color without an extension

Option 1: the tool finder (any color)

Select the cells (hold Shift and use the arrow keys).
Press Alt+/ (Option+/ on Mac). Google calls this the tool finder; it used to be “Search the menus”.
Type fill color (or text color for the font) and press Enter to open the palette.
Pick a color with the arrow keys and press Enter.

Option 2: a macro (one fixed color)

Select a cell and open Extensions → Macros → Record macro.
Apply the color you want from the toolbar, then click Save.
Name it and assign a number. It runs on Ctrl+Alt+Shift+that number (⌘+Option+Shift+number on Mac).

Macros are saved per spreadsheet, allow ten shortcuts at most, and each one applies a single hard-coded color. The first run asks you to authorize the script.

Option 3: the mouse

The paint bucket (fill) and the underlined A (text color) sit in the toolbar. Ctrl+\ clears all formatting, colors included.

How to use Excel's color shortcuts with SheetSpeed

Add SheetSpeed to Chrome (free) and reload your spreadsheet.
Select the cells to color.
Press Alt, H, H for fill color, or Alt, H, F, C (shorter: Alt, F, C) for font color. Google's own palette opens with an orange ring on the current swatch.
Move with the arrow keys (Home and End jump to the ends of a row) and press Enter to apply. Esc closes the palette.
For an exact brand color, press C in the palette to open Google's custom Hex field, type the code and press Enter. Alt, H, C, M opens a custom font color directly.

SheetSpeed doesn't recolor cells itself. It opens Google's native palette, so the result is exactly what clicking the toolbar would do and Ctrl+Z undoes it. The eyedropper still needs the mouse. Every binding can be changed in SheetSpeed Settings.

In Google Slides, Alt, H, F, C opens the text color menu, and fill color is available from the command palette (Ctrl+Shift+Space).

Other formatting keys from Excel's Home tab that work the same way: borders (Alt, H, B + letter), alignment (Alt, H, A + letter), font and size (Alt, H, F, F / S), decimals (Alt, H, 0 / 9) and clear formatting (Alt, H, E, F). See the full SheetSpeed shortcut list.

Add SheetSpeed to Chrome (free)

On a Mac

Use Option where Windows uses Alt: fill color is Option, H, H and font color is Option, H, F, C with SheetSpeed.
The built-in tool finder is Option+/.
Macro shortcuts use ⌘+Option+Shift+number.
More: Excel Alt shortcuts on a Mac in Google Sheets.

FAQ

Is there a keyboard shortcut for fill color in Google Sheets?

Not a built-in one. Google's keyboard shortcut list has no fill color or text color key. Without an extension you can press Alt+/ (Option+/ on Mac), type "fill color", press Enter and pick a color with the arrow keys, or record a macro that applies one fixed color. The free SheetSpeed Chrome extension adds Excel's Alt, H, H for the fill color palette.

What does Alt H H do in Google Sheets?

Nothing color-related by default. In Chrome, Alt+H opens the Google Sheets Help menu. With SheetSpeed installed, pressing Alt, then H, then H (one after another) opens Google's own fill color palette, which you can drive with the arrow keys and Enter, as in Excel.

How do I change font color in Google Sheets with the keyboard?

Natively, use the tool finder: Alt+/ then "text color". With SheetSpeed, press Alt, H, F, C (Excel's font color sequence) or the shorter Alt, F, C to open the text color palette, choose with the arrow keys and press Enter.

Can I type a hex color code without the mouse?

Yes with SheetSpeed: while the palette is open press C to jump to Google's custom Hex field, or press Alt, H, C, M to open a custom font color directly. Type the code and press Enter. Google's eyedropper still needs the mouse.

Do these shortcuts work on a Mac?

Yes. SheetSpeed uses Option in place of Alt, so fill color is Option, H, H and font color is Option, H, F, C. Natively, the tool finder is Option+/.

Is SheetSpeed free?

Yes. The color shortcuts are in SheetSpeed's free version on the Chrome Web Store. It needs no Google sign-in and uses only the storage and activeTab permissions.