Excel Conditional Formatting Examples

Easy steps - use Excel conditional formatting to hide duplicates, highlight expiry dates, mark lottery numbers, and more. Videos, written steps, free workbooks

Rules Manager Tips

After you set up Conditional Formatting rules, you might want to review the rules, or do some troubleshooting. To see the Conditional Formatting rules in the active worksheet, follow these steps:

• On the Excel Ribbon, click the Home tab
• Click the Conditional Formatting command
• Click Manage Rules
• At the top of the Conditional Formatting Rules Manager, select "This Worksheet" from the drop down list
  • 

Each rule is listed, and shows its formula, format, range it applies to, and check box for "Stop if True".

Quickly Check the Formulas

Only a small part of each formula is visible, and you can't show more. Unfortunatley,

• you cannot adjust the size of the Rules Manager window
• you cannot adjust the column widths in the list of rules

However, if you don't have to click the Edit Rule button, to see a full formula.

• To see a full formula, point to one of the rules
• Its full formula will appear in a popup.

After viewing the formula, if you need to edit it, click the Edit Rule button, and make your changes.

Hide Errors

You can use Excel conditional formatting to check for errors, and change the font colour to match the cell colour. In this example, if column A contains a zero, the #DIV/0! error is displayed in column C.

1. Select cells C2:C5
2. On the Ribbon's Home tab, click Conditional Formatting, then click New Rule
3. Click Use a Formula to Determine Which Cells to Format
   • NOTE: In Excel 2003, choose Format|Conditional Formatting
   • Then, from the first dropdown, choose Formula Is
4. In the rule box, enter a formula that refers to the active cell in the selection. In this example, we selected C2:C5, and cell C2 is the active cell, so we'll check for an error in cell C2.
      =ISERROR(C2)
   or, to hide only #N/A errors: =ISNA(C2)

   

5. Click the Format button.
6. Select a font colour to match the cell colour.
7. Click OK, click OK

Video: Hide Duplicate Values

Use Excel conditional formatting to hide duplicate headings on a worksheet, to make a list easier to read. This video shows you the steps, and the written instructions are below the video.

Hide Duplicate Values

In a table, each row should have all data entered, to enable sorting and filtering. However, you can use Excel conditional formatting to hide the duplicate values, and make the list easier to read.

In this example, when the table is sorted by Region, the second (and subsequent) occurences of each region name will have white font colour.

You can see the text if you select the cells.

Follow these steps to hide the duplicates, and you can see the steps in the video above.

1. Select range A2:A5
2. On the Ribbon's Home tab, click Conditional Formatting, then click New Rule
3. Click Use a Formula to Determine Which Cells to Format
• NOTE: In Excel 2003, choose Format|Conditional Formatting
• Then, from the first dropdown, choose Formula Is
4. For the formula, enter
   =A2=A1
5. Click the Format button.
6. Select a font colour to match the cell colour.
7. Click OK, click OK

Highlight Duplicates in Column

Use Excel conditional formatting to highlight duplicate entries in a specific column, or in a range of cells (multiple rows and columns):

In Excel 2007 or later:

1. Select the cells to format -- range A2:A11 in this example
2. On the Ribbon's Home tab, click Conditional Formatting
3. Click Highlight Cell Rules, then click Duplicate Values
4. Select one of the formatting options, and click OK

   

For Excel 2003:

1. Select the cells to format -- range A2:A11 in this example
2. Choose Format|Conditional Formatting
3. From the first dropdown, choose Formula Is
4. For the formula, enter
   =COUNTIF($A$2:$A$11,A2)>1
5. Click the Format button.
6. Select a font or fill colour for highlighting.
7. Click OK, click OK

Video: Highlight Duplicate Records in a List

To highlight the duplicate records in a list, you can use conditional formatting. Add a formula in one column first, to string all the data together.

You can see the steps in this video, and the written instructions are below the video.

Highlight Duplicate Records in a List

Use Excel conditional formatting to highlight duplicate records in a list. Use a formula to combine all the fields into one column, then test that column for duplicates.

Create a formula to combine the data:

1. In this example, the data is in cells A2:F8
2. In cell G1, add the column heading "AllData"
3. In cell G2, enter the formula to combine all the data:
   =CONCATENATE(A2,B2,C2,D2,E2,F2)
4. Copy the formula down to the last row of data

Add the conditional formatting:

1. Select the cells to format -- range A2:F8 in this example
2. On the Ribbon's Home tab, click Conditional Formatting, then click New Rule
3. Click Use a Formula to Determine Which Cells to Format
   • NOTE: In Excel 2003, choose Format|Conditional Formatting
   • Then, from the first dropdown, choose Formula Is
4. For the formula, enter
   =COUNTIF($G$2:$G$8,$G2)>1
   The COUNTIF function will count the occurences of each row's combined text. If there is more than one, the row will be highlighted.
   NOTE: If you only want to highlight the duplicate records, and not the first instance of a duplicated record, use the following formula:
   =COUNTIF($G$2:$G2,$G2)>1
   NOTE: The COUNTIF function only works for 255 characters or fewer. For longer strings use the following formula:
   =COUNT(FIND($G5,$G$5:$G$11))>1
5. Click the Format button.
6. Select a font colour for highlighting.
7. Click OK, click OK

Highlight Cells With Formulas

Use Excel conditional formatting to highlight cells that contain a formula. In this example, there are values in cells A2:B8, and totals in cells C2:C8 and in A9:C9

1. Select all the cells where you want the formatting -- range A2:C9
2. On the Ribbon's Home tab, click Conditional Formatting, then click New Rule
3. Click Use a Formula to Determine Which Cells to Format
4. For the formula, enter: =ISFORMULA(A2)
5. Click the Format button.
6. Select a font colour for highlighting.
7. Click OK, click OK

Highlight Items in a List

Use Excel conditional formatting to highlight items that are in a list on the worksheet.

1. Create a list of items you want to highlight. If the items are on a different sheet than the conditional formatting, name the list.
2. Select range A2:A7
3. On the Ribbon's Home tab, click Conditional Formatting, then click New Rule
4. Click Use a Formula to Determine Which Cells to Format
   • NOTE: In Excel 2003, choose Format|Conditional Formatting
   • Then, from the first dropdown, choose Formula Is
5. For the formula, enter
   =COUNTIF($C$2:$C$4,A2)
   or, if the list is named, use the name in the formula:
   =COUNTIF(CodeList,A2)
   
6. Click the Format button.
7. Select a font colour for highlighting.
8. Click OK, click OK

Video: Highlight Lottery Numbers

You can use Excel conditional formatting to highlight the ticket numbers that have been drawn in a lottery. Winning numbers are entered on the sheet, and those numbers are highlighted in the list of purchased tickets. Written instructions are below the video, and you can download the sample file to follow along with the video.

Highlight Lottery Numbers

You can use Excel conditional formatting to highlight the ticket numbers that have been drawn in a lottery, or the tickets that have 3 or more winning numbes. In this example the ticket numbers are in cells C6:H8, and the drawn numbers are entered in cells C3:H3.

To highlight the winning numbers:

1. Select cells C6:H8
2. On the Ribbon's Home tab, click Conditional Formatting, then click New Rule
3. Click Use a Formula to Determine Which Cells to Format
4. For the formula, use the CountIf function:
      =COUNTIF($C$3:$H$3,C6)>=1
5. Click the Format button.
6. Select formatting options (green fill, in this example), click OK
7. Click OK

To highlight the winning tickets:

1. Select cells B6:B8
2. On the Ribbon's Home tab, click Conditional Formatting, then click New Rule
3. Click Use a Formula to Determine Which Cells to Format
4. For the formula, use the SUM and COUNTIF functions:
      =SUM(COUNTIF($C6:$H6,$C$3:$H$3))>=3
5. Click the Format button.
6. Select formatting options (yellow fill, in this example), click OK
7. Click OK

Highlight Top or Bottom Values

In these two examples, see how to highlight the:

• Top 3 values in a list
• Bottom X values in a list

Both examples use the same list -- the months of the year, and the quantity sold each month.

This video shows the steps, and the written instructions are below the video.

Top 3 Values

In this example, we'll highlight the 3 highest numbers in the list of monthly sales.

The conditional formatting rule will use the LARGE function, which has 2 arguments:

• the list of numbers to check -- $C$2:$C$13
• the nth largest number to return -- 3

The rule will compare each number in the list, to see if it is greater than or equal to that nth number

• C2>=LARGE($C$2:$C$13,3)

Follow these steps to apply the conditional formatting:

1. Select the numbers in the Sales column (C2:C13)
2. On the Ribbon's Home tab, click Conditional Formatting, then click New Rule
3. Click Use a Formula to Determine Which Cells to Format
4. In the formula box, enter the LARGE formula,
      =C2>=LARGE($C$2:$C$13,3)
5. Click the Format button.
6. Select formatting options (light green fill), click OK
7. Click OK

Bottom X Values

In this example, we'll highlight the lowest numbers in the list of monthly sales. Instead of typing a specific number in the formula, we'll set up a cell on the worksheet, where that number can be entered. Then, the conditional formatting formula will refer to that cell.

First, set up the number cell:

• In cell E1, type the heading: How Many?
• In cell E2, type the number 2 -- that can be changed at any time later
• Put a border around the 2 cells, centre horizontally, and add yellow fill colour in E2

TIP: Later, you could type a zero, to temporarily remove any highlighting

To highlight the bottom values, the conditional formatting rule will use the SMALL function, which has 2 arguments:

• the list of numbers to check -- $C$2:$C$13
• the nth smallest number to return -- a reference to cell $E$2

The rule will compare each number in the list, to see if it is less than or equal to that nth number

• C2<=SMALL($C$2:$C$13,$E$2)

Next, follow these steps to apply the conditional formatting:

1. Select the numbers in the Sales column (C2:C13)
2. On the Ribbon's Home tab, click Conditional Formatting, then click New Rule
3. Click Use a Formula to Determine Which Cells to Format
4. In the formula box, enter the SMALL formula,
      =C2<=SMALL($C$2:$C$13,$E$2)
5. Click the Format button.
6. Select formatting options (light orange fill), click OK
7. Click OK

To test the conditional formatting:

• Type a different number in cell E2, to change the number of cells that are highlighted
• Delete the number in cell E2, or type a zero, so that none of the numbers are highlighted

Highlight Weather Data

In this conditional formatting example, temperatures and weather descriptions are highlighted in a weather log. You can download the sample data below.

In the weather log table,

• a Red-White-Blue color scale is used on the Temperature column.
• In the weather column, there are 4 rules set up, to colour the cells based on weather type - Sun, Cloud, Rain or Snow.

In another worksheet, there are 2 named Excel tables - one for weather types, and one for weather descriptions.

There are also 3 named ranges, shown in the screen shot below

The named ranges are used as the source for data validation drop down lists, like this list with weather descriptions.

The named ranges are also used in the INDEX/MATCH formulas in the conditional formatting rules. This screen shot shows the formula in a worksheet cells, where it was used for testing the formula, before creating the rule.

Here are the 5 rules, listed in the Rules Manager.

You can download the Conditional Formatting for Weather Data sample data below.

Show Temperatures With a Color Scale

To see the steps for using a color scale on a temperature cell, please watch this short video. The written instructions are below the video.

Show Temperatures With a Color Scale

To show hot temperatures in a red cell, and cold temperatures in a blue cell, you can use Excel's conditional formatting color scale. This feature is available in Excel 2007 and later versions.

1. Enter the temperature in cell B3
2. In cells F6:F25, enter the numbers 140 to -50, in increments of 10
3. In cell G6, enter a formula that will show an empty string if the current temperature is equal to the temperature in that row, or between that temperature, and the one above:

   =IF($B$3=F6,"",IF(AND($B$3>F6,$B$3<F5),"",F6))

4. Copy the formula down to row 25
5. Select cell B3, then press the Ctrl key and select cells G6:G25 (the cells with the formulas)
6. On the Ribbon's Home tab, click Conditional Formatting
7. Click Color Scales, then click on the Red - White - Blue scale
8. Change the temperature in cell B3, and the cell color will change, based on the color scale.
9. (optional) Hide columns F:G, so the color scale is not visible.

   

Highlight Upcoming Expiry Dates

You can use Excel conditional formatting to highlight payments that are due in the next thirty days. In this example, Due dates are entered in cells A2:A4.

1. Select cells A2:A4
2. On the Ribbon's Home tab, click Conditional Formatting, then click New Rule
3. Click Use a Formula to Determine Which Cells to Format
   • NOTE: In Excel 2003, choose Format|Conditional Formatting
   • Then, from the first dropdown, choose Formula Is
4. For the formula, use the Today function to count the days:
      =AND(A2-TODAY()>=0,A2-TODAY()<=30)
5. Click the Format button.
6. Select formatting options (Bold, Blue font, in this example), click OK
7. Click OK

Highlight Expired Dates

You can use Excel conditional formatting to highlight policies with dates that have expired. In this example, Due dates are entered in cells B2:B7.

1. Select cells B2:B7
2. On the Ribbon's Home tab, click Conditional Formatting, then click New Rule
3. Click Use a Formula to Determine Which Cells to Format
   • NOTE: In Excel 2003, choose Format|Conditional Formatting
   • Then, from the first dropdown, choose Formula Is
4. For the formula, use the Today function to find expired dates:
      =B2<TODAY()
5. Click the Format button.
6. Select formatting options (Red fill color, in this example), click OK
7. Click OK

Highlight Weekend Dates

To highlight the weekend dates in a list, you can use conditional formatting. The WEEKDAY function returns a number for each day of the week, so you could adjust this formula to highlight other days of the week.

You can see the steps in this video.

Hide Cell Contents When Printing

You can use Excel conditional formatting to hide cells when printing. In this example, the contents of cells B2:F4 are changed to white font, if cell H1 contains an x.

To print with the cell contents hidden, type an x in cell H1. To display the cell contents, delete the x in cell H1.

1. Select cells B2:F4
2. On the Ribbon's Home tab, click Conditional Formatting, then click New Rule
3. Click Use a Formula to Determine Which Cells to Format
   • NOTE: In Excel 2003, choose Format|Conditional Formatting
   • Then, from the first dropdown, choose Formula Is
4. For the formula, enter    =$H$1="x"
5. Click the Format button.
6. Select formatting options (white font and white pattern, in this example)
7. Click OK, click OK

Hide Follow-Up Questions

In this example, there is a short questionnairei, and some of the questions have a follow-up item. The follow-up question might appear, based on the first answer.

At first, only the main questions are visible. The follow-up items are in white font with white fill.

For example, "Do you have dependents?"

• If you select No, nothing happens.
• If you select Yes, and the next question appears.

To set this up:

• Follow-up cells have simple conditional formatting rules, such as: =E2="Yes"
• The conditional formatting adds a black font, fill colour, and a border.

For step-by-step video and written instructions, see my Hidden Questions blog post. The sample file is in the download section, below.

Cross Off Completed Items

If you have a list of the tasks that you have to work on, use conditional formatting to cross off completed items. In this example, completed tasks are marked with an X in the "Done" column.

There is a conditional formatting on the list, to cross off completed items, and change the font to light grey. That makes it easier to focus on the tasks that still need to be finished.

To set up this conditional formatting, follow these steps:

1. Select cells A2:C4
2. On the Ribbon's Home tab, click Conditional Formatting, then click New Rule
3. Click Use a Formula to Determine Which Cells to Format
4. For the formula, enter   =$C2<>""
• In each cell, the formula checks if column C in that row is empty
5. Click the Format button.
6. On the Font tab, choose Strikethrough, and select light grey as the colour



7. Click OK, click OK

After you set up the conditional formatting rule, the item will be crossed off, if you type anything in the "Done" column.

This example is on the Strikethrough sheet in sample file #1.

Colour Cells Based on 2 Conditions

Use Excel conditional formatting to colour cells if 2 condidtions are met. In this example, a country code is entered in cell B2. If the code "US" is entered, cells that contain "United States" are coloured red.

Enter the Conditions

You could enter the conditions in the conditional formatting formula, but if you enter them in worksheet cells it's easier to see the conditions, and change them, if necessary.

In this example, the conditions are on the same sheet as the data entry cells, but you can store them on a different sheet. You could also name the cells, and use those names in the conditional formatting formula

To set up the conditions:

• In cell E1, type Cond01
• In cell B2, type US.
• In cell D1, type Cond02
• In cell D2, type United States

Add the Country Code Cell

Next, set up the cell where a country code can be entered:

• In cell B1, type Code
• In cell B2, type US. (This can be changed later)
• Format cell B2 with yellow fill colour, to show that it is a data entry cell

Add Conditional Formatting

Next, add conditional formatting to country cells in the data range. The formula is explained below.

1. Select cells D5:D14, where the country names are listed for the orders
2. On the Ribbon's Home tab, click Conditional Formatting, then click New Rule
3. Click Use a Formula to Determine Which Cells to Format
4. For the formula, enter    =AND($B$2=$E$2,D5=$F$2)
5. Click the Format button.
6. Select formatting options (red fill colour, in this example)
7. 
8. Click OK, click OK

If US is entered in cell B2, and a cell in D5:D14 contains "United States", it is coloured red.

How It Works

The conditional formatting formula is: =AND($B$2=$E$2,D5=$F$2)

The AND function checks the 2 conditions:

1. Does cell B2 match the condition entered in cell E2
2. Does the data entry cell match the condition entered in cell F2

Some notes about the cell references in the formula:

• Cell D5 is used in the formula, because that was the active cell when the conditional formatting was applied.
• A relative reference is used for the data entry cell (D5), because it should adjust to match each cell where the conditional formatting is applied.
• Absolute references are used for $B$2, $E$2 and $F$2 because no matter where the conditional formatting is applied, it should always check those cells.

Shade Alternating Rows

You can use Excel conditional formatting to shade alternating rows on the worksheet.

1. Click the Select All button, above the Row 1 button, to select all the cells on the worksheet.
2. On the Ribbon's Home tab, click Conditional Formatting, then click New Rule
3. Click Use a Formula to Determine Which Cells to Format
   • NOTE: In Excel 2003, choose Format|Conditional Formatting
   • Then, from the first dropdown, choose Formula Is
4. For the formula, enter    =MOD(ROW(),2)
5. Click the Format button.
6. On the Patterns tab, select a colour for shading
7. Click OK, click OK

Shade Bands of Rows

You can use Excel conditional formatting to shade bands of rows on the worksheet. In this example, 3 rows are shaded light grey, and 3 are left with no shading. In the MOD function, the total number of rows in the set of banded rows (6) is entered.

1. Click the Select All button, above the Row 1 button, to select all the cells on the worksheet.
2. On the Ribbon's Home tab, click Conditional Formatting, then click New Rule
3. Click Use a Formula to Determine Which Cells to Format
   • NOTE: In Excel 2003, choose Format|Conditional Formatting
   • Then, from the first dropdown, choose Formula Is
4. For the formula, enter    =MOD(ROW(),6)<3
5. Click the Format button.
6. On the Patterns tab, select a colour for shading
7. Click OK, click OK

Shade Bands by Group

You can use Excel conditional formatting to shade bands by group. In this example, the sales rows for the dates are in alternating colours - blue and no fill. This technique was adapted from Chip Pearson's site.

First, to prepare the table for shade bands by group, follow these steps:

• In cell D1, type the heading for a new column - TRUE
• In cell D2, enter this formula, which returns TRUE or FALSE.
  • =IF(A1=A2,D1,NOT(D1))

Next, follow these steps to add the conditional formatting:

• Select all the data cells in the table
• On the Home tab, click Conditional Formatting, New Rule
• Click on "Use a formula to determine which cells to format"
• In the formula box, type this formula, referring to the active data cell: =$D2=TRUE
• Click the Format button, and choose a fill colour
• Click OK, twice, to apply the formatting
• (Optional) Hide the TRUE/FALSE column, to tidy up the worksheet.

Another way to separate the groups is with a top border, like I did with this list of dates.

Shade Alternating Filtered Rows

You can use Excel conditional formatting to shade alternating rows in a filtered list.

1. Select the cells in the list (A2:B29 in this example).
2. On the Ribbon's Home tab, click Conditional Formatting, then click New Rule
3. Click Use a Formula to Determine Which Cells to Format
   • NOTE: In Excel 2003, choose Format|Conditional Formatting
   • Then, from the first dropdown, choose Formula Is
4. For the formula, enter    =MOD(SUBTOTAL(3,$A$1:$A2),2)
5. Click the Format button.
6. On the Patterns tab, select a colour for shading
7. Click OK, click OK
8. Filter the list, and the shading will alternate in the visible rows.

Create Coloured Shapes

You can use Excel conditional formatting and the Wingding font to create coloured shapes in a cell. In this example, coloured shapes will appear in cells C3:C7, depending on the value in the adjacent cell in column B.

If the value is less than 10, a red circle will appear, if the value is greater than 30, a green square will appear. Otherwise, a yellow diamond will appear.

1. In cell C3 enter the formula:
       =IF(B3="","",IF(B3<10,"l",IF(B3>30,"n","t")))
2. Copy the formula down to cell C7
3. Format cells C3:C7 with Wingding font, and yellow font color
4. Select cells C3:C7
5. On the Ribbon's Home tab, click Conditional Formatting, then click New Rule
6. Click Use a Formula to Determine Which Cells to Format
   • NOTE: In Excel 2003, choose Format|Conditional Formatting
   • Then, from the first dropdown, choose Formula Is
7. For the formula, enter:   =$B3<10
8. Click the Format button, and select Red as the font colour, then click OK.
9. Click New Rule, and click Use a Formula to Determine Which Cells to Format
10. For the formula,enter:  =$B3>30
11. Click the Format button, and select Green as the font colour, then click OK.
12. Click OK

Create Coloured Icons

In Excel 2007 and later, you can use icon sets to highlight the results in a group of cells. In Excel 2010 and later, you can customize these sets, but can't change the color of the icons.

If you don't have icons, or want to change the colors, you can use symbols, and a formula in an adjacent cell, to create your own icon sets.

Or, you can use custom Number Formats, as shown in the sample file, on the ColorIconsNum sheet.

First, set up the lookup table in cells G3:I5

1. In G3:G5, type the percentages: 67%, 33%, 0%
2. In H3, enter the formula: =PERCENTILE($D$2:$D$11,G3)
3. Copy the formula down to rows 4 and 5
4. Format cells H3:H5 in Wingding3 font
5. Use Excel's Insert Symbols feature to add the up, right, and down arrows in those cells, from the Wingdings 3 font.

• NOTE: You could use different percentages, or just type values into H3:H5

Next, create the icons in column C:

1. In cell C2 enter the formula that creates the icon:
       =IF(D2="","",IF(D2>=$H$3,$I$3,IF(D2>=$H$4,$I$4,$I$5)))
2. Copy the formula down to cell C11
3. Format cells C2:C11 with Wingding3 font, and yellow font color
4. Select cells C2:C11
5. On the Ribbon's Home tab, click Conditional Formatting, then click New Rule
6. Click Use a Formula to Determine Which Cells to Format
7. For the formula, enter:   =$B2<$H$4
8. Click the Format button, and select Green as the font colour, then click OK.
9. Click New Rule, and click Use a Formula to Determine Which Cells to Format
10. For the formula,enter:  =$B2>$H$3
11. Click the Format button, and select Red as the font colour, then click OK.
12. Click OK
13. To make the icons appear to be in the same cell as the number, you can create an outside border around the two cells.

Download the Sample File

1. Conditional Formatting Examples: For Excel 2007 and later versions: zipped sample Excel Conditional Formatting file
2. Conditional Formatting Examples 2003: For Excel 2003 - zipped sample Excel Conditional Formatting file
3. Hidden Data Warning: This sample file shows warnings, if rows or columns are hidden. Formula checks for hidden rows, and conditional formatting marks hidden column. Zipped file does not contain any macros.
4. Conditional Formatting for Weather Data: This sample file uses color scale for temperatures, and 4 formula rules for weather conditions - Sun, Cloud, Rain and Snow. The zipped file is in xlsx format, and does not contain macros
5. Hidden Questions: Main questions are visible, and conditionsl formatting hides the follow-up questions. The zipped file is in xlsx format, and does not contain macros

More Tutorials

Conditional Formatting Intro

Conditional Formatting Multiple Cells

Conditional Formatting Documentation

Conditional Formatting Data Bars

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