Microsoft Office is a powerful tool for getting things done, but Google isn't that far behind with its Google Docs offering. The latter is not only free, but also allows you to save a backup on the free app on Android and iOS devices.
Although MS Office has some great features which are not easy to find in Google Docs, there are always solutions and workarounds. Most users still haven't figured out that you can easily get a lined table in Google Sheets, just like the "Quick Styles" menu in MS Office.
How to achieve this, however? It's quite simple.
The Google Docs suite does not directly support zebra stripes, but the solution is to use conditional formatting . Things have changed over the years, so it will be a little harder to find him in his current avatar.
First, press the Format option in the top menu, then click Conditional Formatting . Once you've done that, you'll see the screen below with a few options available to you.
From there, select the range you will need to work on. As an example, I went from A1 to Z100, but if you already know your specific range then go for it. Then click on The custom formula is which will take you to the window below.
Type the formula in the box waiting for your prompt, as is
=ISEVEN(ROW()) 
As soon as you enter the formula here, you will see the leaf turn into a zebra. There will be alternate lines filled with the specified color you have chosen and changing the color itself is as easy as clicking the icon.
Once done, click on Add another rule and instead of the previous formula, insert this particular formula
=ISODD(ROW()) 
That's the whole idea. Again, if you want to change the color, just click on the corresponding icon and choose the look you want.
The same methodology also works for columns. But instead of using the LINE function in our formula above, we need to replace it with COLUMN . Specifically, =ISEVEN(COLUMN())
There you go, all the previous steps are pretty much the same, including adding the formula for odd columns as well.
Everything on Google Drive: We've covered a myriad of Google Drive topics, including how to transfer ownership in Drive, how to open Google Drive files from its website in desktop apps, and also compared it to Dropbox and SpiderOak.
Hope this was helpful for those of you who regularly use Google Drive and Sheets. We at GuidingTech certainly do, and simple hacks like these save lives. Join us on our forum if you have any questions or if you have better hacks than the one suggested here.
