Hi Antony,

what version of Excel are we talking about?

In Excel 2003 you can edit the standard color palette and define any color of your choice, but overall, you're stuck with 56 colors max. Go Tools - Options - Colors and then click the button (I forget what it's called and I'm not in front of 2003 right now).

You can save a custom color palette with a workbook, but I've seen Murphy's law being applied to custom color palettes, so be prepared for glitches.

I guess you're not using 2007, or you would not be asking the question, but please take a moment to update your profile to indicate your Excel version

thanks