In Microsoft Excel, when you format a cell or a range of cells, you may receive the following error message:

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This problem occurs when the workbook contains more than approximately 4,000 different combinations of cell formats. A combination is defined as a unique set of formatting elements that are applied to a cell. A combination includes all font formatting (for example: typeface, font size, italic, bold, and underline), borders (for example: location, weight, and color), cell patterns, number formatting, alignment, and cell protection.

NOTE: If two or more cells share exactly the same formatting, they use one formatting combination. However, if there are any differences in formatting between the cells, each cell uses a different combination.

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To resolve this problem, simplify the formatting in the workbook. For example, the following are suggestions for simplifying formatting:

•	Use a standard font. Using the same font for all cells reduces the number of formatting combinations.
•	If you use borders in a worksheet, use them consistently. NOTE: If you apply a border to the right side of a cell, it is not necessary to apply a border to the left side of the cell that is to the right because the borders overlap.
•	If you apply patterns to the cells, remove the patterns by clicking No Color in the Patterns tab of the Format Cells dialog box.

NOTE: After you simplify or standardize the formatting in the workbook, save, close, and then reopen the workbook before you apply additional cell formatting.

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In most cases, the limit of approximately 4,000 different formatting combinations for a single workbook is sufficient. This problem is likely to occur only when the workbook contains a large number of worksheets that use different formatting, or when a large number of cells are all formatted differently.

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