{"id":13654,"date":"2026-02-05T11:59:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T10:59:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/actonic.de\/?p=13654"},"modified":"2026-02-05T12:17:27","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T11:17:27","slug":"confluence-table-cell-background-color","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/actonic.de\/en\/confluence-table-cell-background-color\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Change the Background Color of a Cell in a Confluence Cloud Table"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Need to highlight or color-code cells in your Confluence Cloud tables? Confluence lets you change the background color of individual table cells<\/strong> directly in the editor \u2014 no macros or workarounds required. This guide shows you how to do it step by step, and covers a known bug where cell options don’t appear<\/strong> on new pages.<\/p>\n

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How to Change Table Cell Background Color in Confluence Cloud<\/h2>\n

Changing the background color of a cell in a Confluence table is done through the Cell options<\/strong> menu. Here’s how:<\/p>\n

Step 1: Click Inside the Table Cell<\/h3>\n

Place your cursor inside the cell you want to color. When the cell is selected, a small dropdown arrow<\/strong> (\u25be) will appear in the top-right corner<\/strong> of the cell. This is the Cell options control.<\/p>\n

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Step 2: Open the Cell Options Menu<\/h3>\n

Click the dropdown arrow \u2014 or press Shift+F10<\/strong> on your keyboard \u2014 to open the Cell options menu.<\/p>\n

Step 3: Select Background Colour<\/h3>\n

In the Cell options menu, hover over Background colour<\/strong>. A color palette<\/strong> with multiple shades will expand to the left of the menu.<\/p>\n

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Step 4: Pick a Color<\/h3>\n

Click the color you want. The cell background color will update immediately<\/strong>. You can repeat this for any cell in the table.<\/p>\n

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\u26a0\ufe0f Known Bug: Cell Options Not Showing on New Empty Pages (CONFCLOUD-83655)<\/strong>There is a known bug in Confluence Cloud that prevents the cell options dropdown from appearing<\/strong> when a table is the first (and only) element on a newly created page. If you’ve added a table to an empty page and cannot see the dropdown arrow \u2014 you’re likely affected by this bug.<\/p>\n

Bug tracker: CONFCLOUD-83655<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Confluence Table Cell Options Not Appearing \u2014 Bug & Workaround<\/h2>\n

If you’ve placed your cursor inside a table cell but the cell options arrow doesn’t show up<\/strong>, you’re likely experiencing bug CONFCLOUD-83655<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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How to Reproduce<\/h3>\n
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  1. Create a new Confluence page<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  2. Add a table as the first and only element<\/strong> on the page.<\/li>\n
  3. Click inside any table cell.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Expected:<\/strong> The cell options dropdown arrow (\u25be) should appear in the top-right corner of the cell.<\/p>\n

    Actual:<\/strong> No dropdown arrow appears. You cannot change the cell background color or access any cell-level formatting options.<\/p>\n

    Workaround: How to Fix Cell Options Not Showing<\/h3>\n

    You can get the cell options menu to appear by using one of these quick workarounds:<\/p>\n

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    [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

    \ud83d\uddb1\ufe0f Option 1: Double-click outside the table<\/strong>Double-click anywhere outside the table on the page, then click back into the table cell. The cell options arrow should now appear.<\/div>\n

    [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

    \ud83d\udccb Option 2: Add content above the table<\/strong>Add a second table, a heading, or any other content element to the page. After that, the cell options become available for the original table as well.<\/div>\n

    [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

    [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”13657″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_shadow_border_circle” onclick=”link_image” css=””][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

    \ud83d\udca1 Good to know:<\/strong> This bug only affects the first table on a brand-new empty page. If your page already has any content above the table \u2014 a heading, paragraph, or even a blank line \u2014 the cell options will work normally.<\/div>\n

    All Cell Options Available in Confluence Cloud Tables<\/h2>\n

    The Cell options dropdown gives you more than just background color. Here’s everything you can access from it:<\/p>\n