Master the Google Sheets Fill Color Shortcut Fast
- David Pang
- 1 hour ago
- 6 min read
Tired of Manually Picking Colors in Google Sheets?
You know that feeling when you just want to color a few cells, but you end up wasting minutes opening the fill color menu, clicking around, and trying to remember the exact shade you used last time? Yeah, we’ve all been there. What if you could skip that hassle altogether and color cells with a single shortcut?
That’s exactly what SheetWhiz’s Fill Color Cycle does. Just press Ctrl + Shift + K (works on both Windows and Mac) to instantly fill and cycle through your preset colors: no clicking, no guessing, no interruptions. It’s built for people who love Excel-level efficiency and want the same power inside Google Sheets. This feature is available within the SheetWhiz Pro Plan and includes a 21-day free trial, allowing you to try it risk-free.
Leveraging Fill Color Cycle keeps you from having to spend significant time manually clicking around on your screen to find the exact color you want and then applying it to yourself every single time you have to reload the page. See the below video of what you'd need to do to apply a custom color to a cell. Contrast that with the above. Fill Color Cycle takes a shortcut to apply. Google takes a minimum of 4 clicks. Multiply this over a thousand times and you've got yourself significant time savings.
How the SheetWhiz Fill Color Cycle Works (Google Sheets Fill Color Shortcut)
The Google Sheets fill color shortcut with SheetWhiz is designed to make your workflow lightning fast. Once you’ve installed SheetWhiz, just press Ctrl + Shift + K to start cycling through your default color palette. Each press instantly changes the selected cell’s fill color without ever touching the mouse.
Key to note is once you've pressed Ctrl + Shift + K once to apply the first fill color, you can just keep hitting "K" over and over again to cycle through the colors. You don't need to run the full shortcut again!
Here’s how it works by default:
Each press moves to the next color in the sequence. Need a specific one right away? Just press Ctrl + Shift + K + (1–4) — for example, “1” for gray, “2” for blue, and so on.
This shortcut mimics Macabacus’s Fill Color Cycle in Excel, a favorite among finance and modeling professionals, but it’s built natively for Google Sheets users. Whether you’re labeling KPIs, categorizing data, or just keeping your sheets consistent, you’ll move faster and stay organized.
Want to see more ways how SheetWhiz upgrades your workflow? Check out The BEST Way to Enable Excel Shortcuts in Google Sheets.
Customize Your Fill Color Cycle (Make It Yours)
Every workspace has its own visual language; your brand may use a specific blue for reports or a yellow highlight for pending items. With SheetWhiz, you can personalize your Google Sheets fill color shortcut to ensure your color cycle aligns with your exact workflow.
To make your spreadsheets both functional and visually clean, keep these simple color principles in mind:
Differentiate with purpose: Use distinct shades for headings, labels, input cells, and totals so readers can instantly recognize what each section represents.
Keep it balanced: Apply color sparingly; too many shades can distract from the data and make the sheet harder to read.
Reflect your brand: Incorporate your brand’s color palette where it fits naturally. It adds a professional, cohesive touch without overcomplicating the layout.
You can change any of the four default colors (#DDDDDD, #C9DAF8, #FFFFCC, #FFFFFF) to shades of your choice. For instance, replace yellow with your company’s accent color or swap white for a softer neutral. These color slots are fully customizable — but the number of them (1–4) stays fixed. That’s intentional. It keeps the system fast, predictable, and easy to remember.
Once you’ve customized your palette, pressing Ctrl + Shift + K (or Ctrl + Shift + K + 1–4) cycles through your personalized set in seconds. No hunting for the color picker, no extra clicks: just smooth, consistent formatting across your sheets.
Ready to work faster? Download SheetWhiz and start your free 21-day trial today.
How It Compares to Macabacus Fill Color Cycle
If you’ve ever used Macabacus inside Excel, the Fill Color Cycle might already sound familiar. It’s a favorite among finance teams, analysts, and corporate users who rely on keyboard shortcuts to move fast. The idea is simple: press Ctrl + Shift + K, and it cycles through your preset color palette, applying the next color each time.
SheetWhiz brings that same precision and speed to Google Sheets. The shortcut behaves exactly like it does in Excel with Macabacus, but it’s built directly for Google Workspace users. That means no add-ons or desktop apps, just the same fluid color cycling, right inside your browser.
Both tools help you:
Apply consistent, predefined color palettes
Customize those palettes to match brand colors or data types.
Maintain clean, uniform formatting across your team’s workbook.
The difference? Macabacus is limited to Microsoft Office. SheetWhiz provides the same workflow in Google Sheets, ideal for anyone transitioning from Excel and seeking the same level of efficiency. You can see a similar Excel-style workflow in How to Insert and Delete Rows & Columns in Google Sheets with Shortcuts.
Why SheetWhiz Is Faster Than Google’s Native Coloring
Google Sheets doesn’t offer an actual fill color shortcut. To color a cell, you have to click the paint bucket icon, open the palette, and manually select your shade each time. It works, but it’s slow and breaks your workflow.
Even worse, if your preferred color isn’t part of the default palette, you’ll need to recreate it in every single spreadsheet, a repetitive, time-consuming step that adds unnecessary friction.
Some users try to work around this by using Paste Special → Paste Formats to copy fill colors between cells, but that’s more of a tedious workaround than a real solution.
SheetWhiz eliminates this hassle entirely by letting you cycle through or apply your preferred colors instantly with the Google Sheets fill color shortcut.
For more on how Paste Formats works, see our detailed guide: How to Use the Paste Formats Shortcut in Google Sheets.
With SheetWhiz, you get an instant Google Sheets fill color shortcut. Simply press Ctrl + Shift + K to apply or cycle through your preset colors by holding down Ctrl + Shift and then just hitting K repeatedly, without needing a mouse. Whether you’re updating a financial model or organizing project data, you stay in the flow without breaking focus.
Google’s native method:
Click Fill Color on the toolbar.
Pick your shade.
Reopen the palette next time.
SheetWhiz method:
Press Ctrl + Shift + K whether on a PC or a MacBook.
Instantly fill or switch to the next color in your cycle.
The result? A faster, smoother workflow, no retraining your fingers, just pure speed.If you’re also looking to automatically color formulas or constants, check out our guide on How to Auto Color Cells in Google Sheets (Hardcodes Blue, Formulas Green).
FAQs
What is the Google Sheets fill color shortcut and how does it work?
The Google Sheets fill color shortcut in SheetWhiz allows you to apply or cycle through preset cell colors instantly, eliminating the need to open the color palette each time. Just press Ctrl + Shift + K to color a cell, or hold down Ctrl + Shift and then press K over and over again to rotate between multiple preset colors.
Can I pick my own colors for the Fill Color Cycle?
Absolutely. Assign your favorite shades, brand colors, or category highlights to the Google Sheets fill color shortcut in the SheetWhiz menu. Once set, press Ctrl + Shift + K to cycle them instantly.
Does the Fill Color Cycle work on both Mac and Windows?
Yes, SheetWhiz is designed for cross-platform consistency, so the shortcut behavior stays identical whether you’re using a PC keyboard or a MacBook. No retraining is needed; simply press, color, and continue working smoothly.
Is this feature part of the free plan?
No, the Fill Color Cycle is part of the Pro Plan, with a 21-day free trial. You can try it first, no card required.
How is SheetWhiz different from Macabacus for Excel?
Macabacus perfected the fill color shortcut Excel feature for Microsoft users. SheetWhiz brings that same power to Google Sheets, all inside your browser.
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