How to Use Conditional Formatting Rules in Excel

Setting a conditional formatting rule in an Excel spreadsheet means that you have set a rule to format certain cells that meet the conditions of the rules you have set. For example, you may wish to highlight all the amounts above $1 million to appear in red in a spreadsheet. Set a conditional formatting rule to your Excel spreadsheet by following the steps below.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Microsoft Excel 2003

1. Start Microsoft Excel and open an existing spreadsheet that contains cells to which you would like to apply a conditional formatting rule. Select the cells that you would like to apply a conditional formatting rule to by clicking and dragging over the cells or using the keyboard shortcut of CTRL+A to select the whole Excel spreadsheet.
2. Choose the "Format" menu and click on "Conditional Formatting…" to bring up the "Conditional Formatting" text box.
3. Set the first drop-down menu to either "Cell Value Is" or "Formula Value Is." Choosing "Cell Value Is" will apply the conditional formatting rule to only cell values where choosing "Formula Value Is" will apply the rule to only formulas.
4. Select an option from the second drop-down menu which will specify the comparison of the rule. Options such as "between" and "greater than" will help you specify how the rule will work.
5. Input a value into the one or two text boxes that appear after you have chosen the comparison for the rule. You can input a value or cell reference into this text box.
6. Click the "Format" button to bring up the "Format Cells" dialog box and set the formatting cells you wish to be applied to the cells that will meet the specifications of the conditional formatting rule you have set.
7. Use your mouse to click the "OK" button twice, once to close the "Format Cells" dialog box and once to close the "Conditional Formatting" dialog box. You will now be able to look at your spreadsheet and see which cells meet the conditional formatting rule you have set.

Tips & Warnings

• Click the "Add" button at the bottom of the "Conditional Formatting" dialog box to add another conditional formatting rule to your Excel spreadsheet.

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