SharePoint DataView Colors

SharePoint can add color to Data Views for easier reading.

Microsoft SharePoint is a Web application that enables users to work more efficiently with others, helping to manage documents, publish reports and improve communication. SharePoint gathers and tracks live data, displaying it for all involved parties in a Data View. You may even customize Data Views with color to enhance presentation.

Benefits

Adding color to your Data Views provides a number of benefits. Colors can highlight key information, drawing attention to important data. Using different colors can organize dense material, breaking it up into recognizable groups and making the data easier to read and understand. Or color can also make otherwise drab data sheets more pleasing to the eye and more enjoyable to read.

Location

You can add color to Data Views through SharePoint's Conditional Formatting feature. Click the arrow in the top right corner of the program to display the list of Common Data View Tasks. Then click the Conditional Formatting option to make available another panel with the coloring options.

Function

Once you've opened the Conditional Formatting panel, select the cell or data value or range of text you'd like to highlight with color. Successfully selecting a cell or text to format will make the "Create" button available, which you must click to open a drop-down menu. Select "Apply Formatting" from the menu to call up the "Condition Criteria" box, which you can use to stipulate when a cell should be formatted with color. For instance, you can activate the formatting if the cell's value dips below a certain number.  

Now select the Category option from the Conditional Formatting panel to bring up the "Background" option. The "Background" selection calls a list of potential background colors. Choose the desired color, with a bright yellow often used to highlight important information. Your selected cell or data will now be highlighted in yellow. Since Data Views provide access to live data, the change takes effect immediately in the Design view and can be instantly accessed.

Considerations

You may also want to bold the text within the selected cell to make it stand out even more against the colored background. The "Category" selection on the Conditional Formatting panel also includes an option for editing font style. Choose the "Font" option and then select the "Font-Weight" list, which enables you to bold the selected text. If you ever change your mind, you can edit any applied formatting color or font through the Conditional Formatting panel. Simply select the "Edit Condition" option and make appropriate alterations.

References

• Microsoft: SharePoint
• Microsoft: Apply Conditional Formatting to a Data View
• Microsoft: Customize Data Views and Forms Using SharePoint Designer
• Packt Publishing: SharePoint Displaying Data