🟡 Intermediate 12 minintermediate path
Conditional Formatting
Conditional formatting turns raw numbers into a visual story — heat maps, data bars, duplicate detection, and custom rules based on formulas.
Learning objectives
- Apply built-in rules like color scales and data bars.
- Write formula-based rules to highlight full rows.
Step-by-step
1. Built-in rules
Home → Conditional Formatting: Highlight Cell Rules, Top/Bottom Rules, Data Bars, Color Scales, Icon Sets. Great for at-a-glance dashboards.
2. Duplicates
Highlight Cell Rules → Duplicate Values instantly flags repeats in a column — essential for cleaning up lists.
3. Formula-based rules
New Rule → Use a formula: =$C2="Overdue" and set the range to the whole table — highlights the entire row when column C says Overdue.
4. Managing rules
Manage Rules to reorder, edit, or delete. Rules evaluate top-down; use Stop If True to end the chain.
Key takeaways
- Apply built-in rules like color scales and data bars.
- Write formula-based rules to highlight full rows.
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