Comments on: Two ways to change background color in Excel based on cell value

In this article, you will find two quick ways to change the background color of cells based on value in Excel 2016, 2013, and 2010. Also, you will learn how to use Excel formulas to change the color of blank cells or cells with formula errors. Continue reading →

Comments page 14. Total comments: 426

  1. You're the best! Thank you doll

    1. Dear Svetlana Cheusheva,
      Can we color a cell based on result. In detail, I am using a formula (=min(various nos of cell in a particular row) to find the lowest figure , Like ( =MIN(W7,S7,O7,K7,like so on))and for example result is W7 cell and I want to automatically color the W7 cell. By conditional formatting it can be done by selecting entire cell range, but problem is I have to more than 40-50 row and I have to repeat the same rule for each row. Is there any help for me. Pls guide.

      1. Hello Rameswar,

        You can select all the rows and create the conditional formatting rule with the formula =A7=MIN($W7, $S7, $O7....)
        Where A7 is the first (top-left) cell of your range.

        But I'd recommend creating a helper column (hidden) and copy the following formula there: =MIN($W7, $S7, $O7....) And in your conditional formatting rule, use the formula =A7=$AB7, where A7 is the top-left column and AB is the helper column.

        If you have a large data set, this rule will work much faster because Excel won't have to calculate =MIN($W7, $S7, $O7....) for each cell where the rule is applied.

  2. Thank you for your response, but i might not have explained it well enough.
    I have 3 cells that need to change rules according to what i have selected from a drop down list. So, if i have "refrigerator" selected from the list, the 3 cells need to have one rule for that selection, and if i select "freezer" the same 3 cells need to have another set of rules. Not sure how to do it.

    Thanks for you help though! :)

    1. Hi Ron,

      Regrettably, Excel conditional formatting rules cannot be changed depending on the value selected in the drop down list (this can be done using VBA only).

      As an alternative, you can create several rules for the same range of cells, one per each value in the drop-down list, that will check the contents of your drop box and color the cells you want depending on the drop-down list's value and your additional conditions.

  3. Hi,

    Can I have a complete row highlighted in any color based on if there is any change (addition or deletion) of data from the exiting value?

  4. very nice , thank you.

  5. Please Please Help!!!
    My cell C1 has to say "yes" if A1>100 and B1100 and B1>70.
    please help how to make this formula ??? My head is broken by now :(

    1. Hi Sergey,

      Here you go :)

      =IF(AND(A1>100, B1100>70, B1>70),"yes","")

  6. I am creating a task list and I would like to change the fill color of the row depending on to whom the task is assigned. I have created the drop-down list and used conditional formatting to assign colors to the individuals names. Now when I select a name from the drop-down list the fill color changes for that cell. How can I get the corresponding cells in the row to change to the same color?

      1. Thank you for taking the time to assist me. It is much appreciated.

  7. i want to color some cells based on different cell's condition. I've done it but the problem is when i close the document after saving and open again then i see that the condition has been erased. but why??

    1. Hi Tanjin,

      This is absolutely abnormal! Please make sure you save the workbook after creating the rule.

  8. Sorry, i meant color coded values

    1. Hi Ron,

      You can select a group of sells you want to color (e.g. D10:D12) and create 2 rules with different fill colors based on these formulas:
      =$D10="Refrigerator" and =$D10="Freezer".

  9. How can you make a group of cells change their rules based on what you select from a drop down list??

    I have a drop down list consisting of "Refrigerator" and "Freezer". I have coded values in "D10-D12" that need to change based on whether i have "freezer" or "refrigerator" selected.

    Thanks!

  10. Hai,

    I have a trend monitoring datasheet . Each kind of trend refers to 1 - 100 numbers. i need to highlight the trend if it occurs more than 2 times.
    Eg. Trend No.1 - BY Road, 2 -By shop, 3 -By School ... up to 100 numbers. If trend No.1 occurs two times, it should highlight. Can you please help me.

    1. Hi Anil,
      To be able to suggest a proper formula, I need to know more details. Is each trend a column or a row? Do you want to highlight certain cells or entire rows? Please send me a workbook with your sample data at support@ablebits.com and I will try to help.

  11. Hi,

    I want to change the cell colors in col A based on the values in another cells say Col C. Here, i have conditions that if the values in Col C are in the range <% then green, if + % then yellow otherwise Red..how to get it done!!

    1. Hi!

      You can select all cells with data in column A, not including the column header, and create 3 conditional formatting rules based on the formulas like these (assuming that row 2 is your first row with data).
      Green: =$C2<50%
      Yellow: =$C2>60%
      Red: =AND($C2>=50%,$C2<=60%)

      For more details, please check out this tutorial: How to change a cell’s color based on another cell.

  12. I am working with recertification dates of about 100 people. I have columns with recertification dates with an adjacent column that allows me to see if personnel are current or overdue. These cells change color based on that value. Their are several columns of data between the name of the indivual and their status. I would like to highlight names of individuals who are overdue. Is there a way to reference another cell so that when they go overdue it highlights their name and when they return current the highlighting goes away?

    1. Hello Matt,

      You can do this by creating a conditional formatting rule based on a formula. Select the column you want to highlight a create a rule using a formula similar to this: =$C2="Overdue" (where C is your status column and 2 is your 1st row with data). You can find more information about conditional formatting based on another cell here: Change a cell’s color based on another cell value.

  13. Hi Svetlana,

    I am struggling to figure out how to set a value range in my spreadsheet to correlate with specific colors when a value is input in the cells. For instance, I want the cell color to be blue when the value input into the cells is less or equal to 2.0, and if the value is 3.0 - 4.0 the cell will turn green, and if the value input into the cell is greater than or equal to 4.1 it will turn pink. Can you please help?

    Thank you in advance for any assistance you can provide.

    Julie

    1. Hi Julie,

      You can easily do this by creating 3 separate rules in this way:
      - Select all the cells you want to color;
      - Click Conditional Formatting > New Rule > Format only cells that contain;
      - Select the needed option from the drop-down list (2nd box from the left) for each rule - "less or equal to", "between", and "greater than or equal to";
      - Click the Format button and choose the format you want for each rule.

      You can find the detailed guidance with screenshots here - Creating an Excel conditional formatting rule. Hopefully you will find the info helpful.

  14. This has been so very helpful. Thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge. I would love to know how to conditionally format a cell colour based on whether a different cell is NOT blank. I have perfected the blank value, how do I do the opposite?
    I am also curious if it is possible to use the icon sets to show based on the value (or the blank versus containing data) of other cells. An example, a check list of items that spans a row, a check mark at the front of the row to show all columns have been filled in (contain data, any data) or an exclamation in the first cell to show that there are some cells that are blank, or an x if all cells in that row are blank. Is that even possible???
    Thank you for your time

    1. Hi Michelle,

      You can create a rule with the following formula: =$B2="" It will color cells in the selected column(s) if a corresponding cell in Column B is not blank. Naturally, you will need to replace B with the column you need, and "2" with the row number where your data starts.

      As for the icon sets, I described a solution exactly for this task in my latest article - How to use conditional formatting in Excel. You can go directly to the section How to apply an icon set based on other cells' values. Hopefully, this is what you are looking for.

      1. Oh my gosh that icon set creativity is brilliant!!! Thanks Svetlana!!

  15. thanks for supporting

  16. How to change colour of entire column ( if > green &if < red)comparison to other column ?

    1. Hello Rasendra,

      This is a bit unusual to change the color of the entire column, most other users asked how to change the color of the entire row. Anyway, if this is your task, you can change the color of the whole column in this way:

      - Select the entire column, say column B.
      - Create 2 rules with these formulas: =$B$2<$A$2 and =$B$2>$A$2 (we are comparing values in row 2).

      Make sure both formulas are applied to the entire column, say =$B:$B.

  17. Hi, never mind previous request, I found the answer in another of your articles. Also very good, by the way.

    1. Thank you for your feedback Justine! I am really glad to know you found the articles helpful.

  18. Hi Svetlana, great, easy to understand instruction. I hope I haven't missed this, but I can't see how to color an entire row based on the value in one cell for a whole page of rows. For example - value in A2 is A so row is red, value B makes the row blue, etc. It will take a new rule for each value/color combo? Thanks, Justine

  19. how to fill color by getting two values from two cells respectively.
    For ex..
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
    2 6 then from 2nd to 6th column have to fill color.
    1 5 then from 1st to 5th column have to fill color.
    can u pls help me?

    1. Hi Charu,

      I am sorry I do not exactly understand the task. Can you please send us your source data and the desired result at alexander.frolov@ablebits.com? We will try to figure this out.

  20. Hi Svetlana,
    Amazingly good post.
    I've one question as well.
    A3 X
    A4 X
    A5 Y
    A6 Z
    A7 Z
    A7 X

    I'm trying to compare two cells for entire (Current and Preceding) and if they are not equal then fill with some color for the cell which differs from its previous one. I'm using Conditional formatting using a formula - =A2A3

    Result is it fills color for A4 instead of A5 and A7 Instead of A8.

    1. Hi Santosh,

      Thank you! You simply need to use the cells' addresses in your formula in the reverse order. So, select the needed range, say A3:A8, and create a rule with this formula:
      =A3<>A2

      1. That works, Thank You :)

  21. Hi Svetlana,

    It's really helpfull article. I appriciate the way you described about the features of Excel.I am working on Excel services using O-data and I am stucked in one point.
    Like in given example there are total 10 rows and you did formatting for that.
    I want to add 4-5 extra rows in that same sheet.So is there any way that the cells having values greater than 3.7(given in your example) should come in reddish color and cells having values less than or equals tp 3.45(given in your example) should come in green color for extra rows automaticaly without again selecting the entire table.

    Hope you can help figure this thing out!

    Thanks

    1. Hi Vishesh,

      Usually Excel is smart enough to apply the existing conditional formatting rules to the newly added rows. If this does not happen, then you can either:
      - When creating a rule, select some more empty rows below your data, say 100 - 200 rows, or
      - Convert the range to table (Insert tab > Table). In this case, the existing rules will definitely be applied to all new rows you add to the table.

  22. thanks so much for this useful and well exmapled article, saved me hours on what i was about to do. you're awesome!

  23. HI Svetlana,

    Useful post and perfect answers :)
    1 Query - i want to format cells in a column with colurs based on the vloopkup value from other sheet.
    How can this be acheived?

    1. Hi Adil,

      Thank you for your kind words : )

      You can use the Vlookup function in the formula, the conditional formatting rules support it. Here is an example:
      =VLOOKUP($A2,Lookup!$A$2:$C$100,3)>20

      Just keep in mind that Vlookup is a resource-consuming function and it may slow down your Excel if you have large tables.

  24. Dear SC,

    Thanks for your article know i know how can i use the conditional formatting for filling the color in an specific column, But could you please tell me how i can fill a color in a specific column based on the value of an another column
    With your quoted example how you can color the name of states A1,A2,A3 based on the value of mentioned in the column B1,C1,D1

    1. Hello Radhakrishnan,

      You can color the names of states in column A based on values in columns B, C and D in this way:
      - Select the cells you want to color (A2:A12 in our example)
      - Create a conditional formatting rule based on formula, e.g. =AND($B2<3.5,$C2<3.5,$D2<3.5) It will color the states with gas prices less than 3.5 in columns B - D.

      For more information, please check out my other article: How to change a cell's color based on a value of another cell. Hope this helps.

  25. Hi,
    For example A1 & B1 both cells values should be same. If it's not true, then C1 cell background need to be change! can you help me?

    1. Hi Saran,

      Just select all the cells in column C that you want to change the background color and then create a conditional formatting rule with this formula:
      =($A1<>$B1)

  26. I need some help here. I am trying to change the font of Cell A2 red based on B2 being blank. How can I work that out?

    1. Hi,

      Select the cells you want to highlight in Column A and create the conditional formatting rule based on this formula: =B2=""
      And then choose the needed font color on the Font tab of the Format Cells dialog.

  27. Hi,

    I would just like to fill a cell with a color based on a %. Say fill a cell 50% with a color as a graphic representation of the amount. Is that possible in excel?

    Thanks

    Vinny

    1. Hi Vinny,

      Of course, you can do this using the conditional formatting. The easiest way is to select your table or a range of cells, click the Conditional formatting button > Highlight Cells rules > Equal to..., specify the percent you want to color, e.g. 50%, and choose a fill color from the drop down list (click Custom Format... if you want more colors).

      1. Can this be done with a gradient as well? For example setting RED for 0% and GREEN for 100% so it does the colours by itself according to the result of the formula.

        I'm using this and I would like the result of this cell to change its colour.

        =COUNTIF(E4:E37, "SI")/34

        Thank you.

  28. Thanks I was able to find my answer / straight to the point

  29. my problem out side of your presentation

  30. Hello Svetlana,

    I'm having a trouble with conditional formatting, I've been looking for solutions several days but still can't figure out.

    I use "between" rule to highlight cells. But is there any way that I can highlight cells with 0 and ignore blank cells? Because when I choose highlight between "0" to "46" (for example), blank cells are also highlighted.

    I try to use 3-scale color, it can ignore blank cells but unfortunately my data will be much better if I use "between" rule to highlight.

    Hope you can help figure this thing out! Thank you very much!!
    Best regards!

    1. Hi Thinh,

      You can do this by creating a second rule of the "Format only cells that contain" type. In the 'New Formatting rule' dialog window, click the little arrow next to "Cell value" box and choose Blanks from the drop-down list. Then simply click OK without setting any format. Finally, click Conditional Formatting > Manage rule on the ribbon and select the option "Stop if true" next to the Blanks rule. Also, make sure it is first in the list, if not, move it to the top as explained here . Hope this helps : )

      1. Thank you very very much!!! You are such a genius! I've been searching for days with no result! Your solution works exactly as I hope it will!

        So much thank you for your help! You've just saved my thesis :)

        Best regards!!

        1. I'm glad to know it worked for you. Good luck with your thesis! : )

  31. Hi Svetlana,

    Thank you for the post. I have a follow-up question. I have two columns and I want to compare the two values for row 1 in each column for dozens of rows. I want column A's cell to change color if it's value is less than the corresponding cell in Column B. For example if A1=4 and B1=5, then I want A1 to turn red and I want to do this for each cell in A1:A50 compared to each corresponding cell in B1:B50. Is there a way I can do this all at once instead of one cell at a time?

    Thanks,

    Matt

    1. Hi Matt,

      Of course, you can do this at once using the conditional formatting. Select cells A1:A50 and create a new rule (Conditional formatting > New rule > Use a formula to determine which cells to format). Enter this formula =$A1<$B1 and choose the red fill color. Done!

      If you want to do the same in a table that has headers (data starts in row 2), then simply change A1 to A2 and B1 to B2 in the formula.

      1. Hi Svetlana,

        Thank you, but that only worked for the first cell (assuming I didn't do something wrong). How do I get it to compare A2 to B2 and C2 to C3, etc.? I'm used to using formulas where I could create the formula and then just copy the formula to all of the cells. Is there a similar way to do that with this conditional formatting?

        Thanks again,

        Matt

        1. I figured it out. Thanks for your help.

        2. Hi Matt,
          Yes, it works in a similar way with conditional formatting. Instead of copying the formula to other cells, you select the entire range that you want your formula to apply to, and use a mixed cell reference, i.e. an absolute column and relative row (e.g. $A1 and $B1).

  32. how do you do the above using drop-down menus

    1. it is shorting ....

    2. Hi Eric,
      Sorry, I do not exactly understand your question. I do not know any way to change the background color in Excel other than by using conditional formatting.

  33. hi , actually i have 100 cells out of which 10 contains value as 0,
    and others are any number ...i have used some formulas , as a result of which 0 value has been entered in the cells,, i want to change the colour of cell containing
    0 when its value changes to some new value other then 0, at the same time i do not want to change cell colour of my existing cells containing values other then 0..
    pls help

    1. Hi Sameer,

      Select your 100 cells, press Ctrl+F, enter 0 into the "Find what" field and click the "Find all" button. Then switch to the list of found values and press Ctrl+A to select them all. After that create a conditional formatting rule by choosing "Format only cells that contain" (the rule will apply to the highlighted cells only). Under "Format only cells with" choose "Cell value", "not equal to", 0. Press the Format button to choose the fill color of your liking and you are done.

      1. great helpfull

  34. i require a range of cells to turn color when the value of a non adjacent cell reaches a specific value, example;
    cells b2,b3,b4,b5,b6 to turn red when cell f12 is greater than 20

    1. Hi Gln,

      Just select the needed cells (b2:b6) and create a new rule with this formula =$F$12>20.

  35. Hi Dinesh and Hafiz,

    Thank you for your comments! It's really nice to know that my article was helpful.

    1. thanks a lot

  36. thanks i found my problem solution.

  37. Its very usefull for me

    1. Very easy and Usefull, $nx...

    2. No i Can't understand

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