Comments on: Excel conditional formatting formulas based on another cell

This tutorial explains how to use Excel formulas to format cells and entire rows based on the values you specify or based on another cell's value, and provides a handful of formula examples. Continue reading →

Comments page 26. Total comments: 1726

  1. Hi Everyone

    I need help on something. (Excel 2010)

    I need to place into a formula this: If the text in any of my active Cells which are Cell A2 all the way to Cell A4000 is exactly the same as the text that is typed into Cell A1, then the Active Cell that have the same text will shade RED.

    I can do this for an individual active cell through conditional formatting no problem using the formula =$A$1=$A$2 but as soon as I do =$A$1=$A$2:$A$4000 it doesn't work.

    Please help, what am I missing in this formula?

  2. I have 02 G:8 and J:8 cell with text G:8="Moderate" and J8= Panding both have drope down list under G8 I have another option "Not Accaptable"

    I want to get out put in J8 Pending if the text in G8 is moderate or Not accaptable otherwise completed.

    I am using =IF(AND(G8="Moderate"),"Pending","Completed") but it is getting only one text.

    Thanks

    1. You only have one conditional test and that's IF G8="Moderate". If it is your Boolean result is TRUE and the output will be "Pending". The FALSE result for anything other than "Moderate" in G8 will return the value "Completed". It seems like you want an IF/OR test. Your syntax would be "=IF(OR(G8="Moderate", G8="Not acceptable"), "Pending", "Completed")". If G8 is either "Moderate" or "Not acceptable", the result will be "Pending", otherwise the resulting output will be "Completed".

  3. i want to highlight red if A20 is greater than A2 but the cells contain dates.. not numbers

    1. Dates are just "serial numbers" started at 1/1/1900 so that date is "1", 1/2/1900 is "2", and so on until today (2/14/2019) is 43,510 (i.e. the 43,510th day since 12/31/1899). To illustrate, type the numeral "1" into a cell and then change the format to "Date" and you'll see what I mean. Likewise, type "Today()" into a cell which is the function to enter the current day's date and then change the format to "Number" and you'll see the opposite happen. Now that we've gone over that...dates are just numbers. So it's still just a numerical comparison so the same logical operators you learned in basic math apply: >, =, <=, (from l-r greater than, less than, greater than or equal to, less than or equal to, not equal to). I'm not sure from your question if you want to turn Red cell A20 or cell A2. Assuming for explanation's sake you want to turn A20 Red if it is greater than A2, select cell A20 and then Conditional Formatting > Highlight Cells Rules > Greater Than. In the dialog box that pops up for the left box select the cell A2 either by overwriting the entry with "A2", clicking back on your spreadsheet and selecting cell "A2", or by selecting the range selector at the right-hand side of the text box and selecting "A2". The right box of the dialog for Red you'll need to select Custom Format in the drop down menu and use the Fill tab to select the Red you so desire. Otherwise, there are some default options, one of which is a light red with red text. If you don't mind the default options for your purposes it can be handier than selecting a custom format every time.

  4. The information here is great, so many questions and answers I am hoping this isn't a duplicate question.

    I have a spreadsheet in which if C43, J34 and J46 equal each other highlight the cell in green, if they don't highlight the cell in red.

    not sure how to use the conditional formatting on this....thanks in advance for any help you can give me

    1. Format the 3 cells Red to start with because when the conditional format returns FALSE the Red will just be uncovered (i.e. they won't be Green). Then set up your conditional format to be "=AND($C$43=$J$34, $C$43=$J$46)" with a format of Green. Make sure the conditional format applies to "C43, J34, J46" separated by commas.

  5. Please, what is the actual formular to use such that numbers in a table less than 10000 be highlighted and greater than 10000 be highlighted with a different colour

    1. Hi, just use the conditional formatting tool, it has greater and less than all set up and you just input your value and range.

  6. OK, I put this formula in the conditional formatting:
    =VALUE(E7)=VALUE((OFFSET($J$7,(E7*8),0)-1))

    Now, the column E has values in sets of 8. Column J has "control" data which is numbered from 1 to 100 is also in sets of 8 but lots more than column E has data. E7 has a number from 1 to 90 starting in row 7 and every 8th row has a number incremented from above.

    So, I want to format cell e7 with green background IF it can find at cell location of the contents of e7 times 8. Not sure how to do that.

    Any ideas?

  7. Madam / Sir,

    I want to learn Macro's in excel using Visual Basic & Microsoft Access.

    Kindly give the suggestion and give hints and notes for my mail ID

    My phone no. 91- 8939214538

    INDIA

    Vandhee Madaram

  8. Hi,

    I need your help in order to conditional format some cells based on the following example :

    If in cell A7 I have the value 03-Aug-2016 (as a date), then the following cells must be filled as this : cell T7 to be green if the cell A7 is 24 hours due , cell U7 to be yellow if the cell A7 is 14 days due and cell V7 to be red if the cell A7 is 30 days due (A7+24 hours = T7 turns green and so on..).

    Can you help me please ?
    Thank you in advance.

    Can someone help me with this, please?

    Thank you in advance!

  9. Hi can you possibly help ?
    I am struggling - thats an understatement.

    I'm looking to highlight maximum and next maximum figure in a col when another col has a figure greater than 4.

    (col A had set of figures greater and less than 4 whilst col B has set of figures that maximum 2 need to be highlighted )

    thanks - much appreciated

    Alex

  10. Hi Svetlana,

    I have some data in a spreadsheet across a number of rows and columns that details absence. This is recorded as either A or AA depending on if the absence is authorised or not. I want to be able to conditionally format the totals column at the end of the sheet to highlight a cell when there are 2 consecutive columns in that row with an A or AA in them.

    I thought I had it with this: =OR(AND(B8="A*",C8="A*"),AND(C8="A*",D8="A*"),AND(D8="A*",E8="A*"),AND(E8="A*",F8="A*"),AND(F8="A*",G8="A*"),AND(G8="A*",H8="A*"),AND(H8="A*",I8="A*"))

    but it doesn't work. I now know that this is because the wildcards don't work in the conditional formatting formula but I don't know how to fix it. Help!

    Thanks,

    Anna

  11. Hello Mam,
    How we sum of these coloumn in z1 (A1, C1, E1, G1,...........x1) in coloumn of Z1

  12. dear mam, your blog is excellent!
    i've to create a formula for a condition;
    i've a column A in sheet 1 of students name with adjacent column B with students admission no. of year 2015, again i've a column A in sheet 2 with students name admitted in year 2016 with adjacent column with students admission no.i want to highlight the student name entered in sheet 2 if it is admitted in previous year, with his/her admission no. in adjacent column automatically. by conditional formating with formula =countif()>1 i've done it but i cannot entered automatically admission no.
    plz give the complete solution. thank you!

  13. Hi Svetlana,

    I was wondering if I could use this function to highlight in yellow a range of cells based on a customer number?

    Thanks in advance for your help!
    Jim

    1. Hi Jim,

      Sure, you can. If you explain the task in more detail, I may be able to suggest an appropriate formula.

  14. I am having difficulty conditionally formatting a cell that has to meet several conditions. First the column name (ID number) has to match 1 of 5 other cells and second the formula in the cell has yielded an "X".

    I have tried numerous conditional format formulas but have not found the one that works. The formula the subject cell calculates to display either an "X" or " ". I need to highlight the "X" if the column ID number matches one of five other cells.

  15. Hi I am trying to design a sheet, that in say sheet1 has names of customers and in the second column a list of their purchases, so in sheet 2 when their name is typed it will bring up their purchase (if you know what I mean)

  16. Hi, I am trying to design a sheet where in another sheet(sheet 1) there will be a list of all persons names and in another column a list of they purchase, so on a new sheet(sheet 2) when a persons name is entered in a box their purchase is shown beside it

  17. Hello,
    I'm trying to auto-highlight a spreadsheet. Column A is the Company Name, B is Invoice #, C is Amount, D is Due Date, and E is Date Paid. I'm using the following rules already:
    Highlight Red if past due: =NOW()
    Highlight Yellow if due within 7 days: =NOW()+7
    Leave blank if no value in Due Date: =ISBLANK(A1)=TRUE

    I need to know the formula to highlight the entire row GREEN if a date is entered in Column E.

    Thanks!
    Jenny

    1. Solved it!

      I created a new column that "Paid?" and used this formula so when you enter "Yes" in the paid column it highlights the entire row green.

      =$E1="YES"

    2. Oh, the formulas that I'm already using are highlight column D only.

  18. How do I create conditional formatting that calls out if a cell value is less than either the cell above or the cell to the left? Example is below - cell D4 is less than D3 and C4.

    A B C D
    1 31.60 33.35 36.00 38.55
    2 32.75 32.80 37.80 40.55
    3 33.90 36.10 39.60 42.45
    4 34.60 36.85 40.65 40.35
    5 35.55 38.10 42.10 45.05

  19. Dear mam, how to color the new entry data by not showing the data. For example. You will enter "1" in the cell, if you enter one activity but instead of "1" appears, that cell data will be blank colored.

  20. Hello,

    I want to relate one cell to Another for example in cell B4 i have two Options Currencies like USD and AED now in the next cell B5 when i enter an amount it should be related with B4 if USD is selected than the format for that cell should be $ and when AED is selected in B4 than automatically B5 format should be for AED. Please help me with giving proper formula

  21. Hello,
    I inherited a spreadsheet worth of 10+ years of data, but someone got into it and messed with it, so now the condition not working properly any more. I'm a newbie to conditional formatting, I need help to fix it, please!
    It's a big file, contains thousands of row and dozens of column. And here is what I need:

    if any cell in column K contain a specific text "WAT", then in that same row, cell B, C, G, and K will be fill with color. How do I format this? thank you in advance!!

  22. Hi ,

    Is there any formula for this question below :

    cell 1 will have month of feb 2016 entered

    cell 2 will have month march 2016 entered

    cell 3 will have month dec 2015 entered

    is it able to cross check within 3 cells whether the date in each cells is consecutively 3 months based on the dates if not need to appear the cells in red colour .

  23. Need to cover a row with hash marks to blank it out when wrong part number is listed. Problem is the following formula works when X is added in one cell but not the other.
    Row A37:F37 is covered by blue hashes if X is in A7 and C12 = TT60000678-
    Part number in C12 is entered by formula when X is put in A7
    To change part number in C12 requires an X in D22 or E22. Formula for this is in C12 .
    =IF(AND(OR(D22="X",E22="X"),A7="X"), "TT60003571-",IF(AND(A7="X",(E4=293,E4=701,E4=601,E4=731),"TT60002639-", ""))))))

    Conditional Formatting Formula for adding blue hash marks in A37:F37 works fine when X is put in E22.
    It does not work when X is put in D22

    I am using excel 2010. Have had this problem in the past with other formulas/configurations. W
    Have used similar formulas in earlier versions of Excel and did not have this problem.

  24. Hi, Can you help me with this?

    I am preparing a system so staff members can build part numbers based on certain questions which I have embedded into "drop down lists".

    My issue is that I have two questions which require a different drop down list to appear based on the answer of the previous question.

    Example question 1, please chose C or SS.

    Question 2
    Please choose size.

    If they chose "SS" on question 1, I want to offer a drop down list with values from 2-10 on question 2
    If they chose "C" on question 1, I want to offer a different drop down list offering values 11-20

    So if Cell C5 = C I want drop down list A
    If cell C5 = SS I want drop down list B

    Is this possible?

    Many thanks,

    Kyle

  25. Hello Svetlana, I have a worksheet there are many columns like column A, B,C,D etc. Column A have Product ID, Column B have Product Description C got 1 date of month D got 2 date of month as on and last column got closing stock. i got values from some columns in this worksheet from another worksheet using formula. but the problem is that on a specific date it got values for that dates columns and rest all columns got 0 value. I want when a column got values from formula is got paste special at a specific time (11 am) automatically, so that on next day when the current day's value updated on respective column last days value did not change.

    could you help me on this.

    Thanks

  26. I am trying to apply conditional formatting based on the value in other cell. Condition is if column J has specific text (from the list) row to be highlighted yellow. If columns K, L, M, N have any text, then row should have not color. I am able to format this based on the numbers in columns K, L, M, N not the text. Please help.

  27. I have two columns, F and H. I put a 1 in F if the application is approved and the H column equals the number of times an application has been submitted by someone. in column H, i want the cell to highlight green when the application is approved on the first attempt (f=1 and h=1). When applying the conditional formatting, I can get it to work if I set it up for a single cell ie =and(h5=1, f5=1) and applies to $h$5 but I want to apply this formatting to the entire H Column. If I change the formulat to =and(h:h=1, F;F=1) and apply it to =$h$h, no cells are highlighted. Can you help me tweak my formula to do this?

  28. Hi i want to know when i want a cell to be yellow when another cell has no data but then if i add data to that cell then the yellow should then go back to no fill.

    How do i do that

  29. How to highlight calendar cells

    based on start,estimated & actual date in excel

    I tried using the below formula but it doesnt work

    If =(F$4<$B5), no format (or white fill), Stop If True
    If =AND(F$4<=$C5, F$4<=$D5), fill blue
    If =AND(F$4$D5), fill green
    If =AND(F$4>$C5, F$4<=$D5), fill red

  30. Hi, any help is greatly appreciated:

    I am trying to use conditional formatting to apply to individual cells across a row based on each of their values, relative to one value in another (Absolute) cell. Data is corresponding in 2-row sets...

    Specific example:
    A1=10
    B2=12, C2=11, D2=9
    A3= 20
    B4=21, C4=20, D4=19

    I want to create a conditional formatting formula that is something like this:
    Format IF: =$A1>B$2.
    I want B2, C2, D2, etc. to be evaluated compared to $A$1, and be highlighted individually (not row 2, just the individual cell), and ONLY if A1 is greater than the value in the cell. I want B4,c4,d4... to ref $A3, and so on down the sheet. (Note: it's ok if b3 references a2 in between, because all Even numbered cells in column A = 0; a2=0,a4=0, etc, therefore b3,c3,d3...which are all positive, would not get formatted, which is good.)

    In the above example, I would want this result:
    D2 and D4 are highlighted/formatted (because they are less than A1 and A3 respectively), and nothing else is formatted.

    I am having trouble figuring out the absolute reference. I also don't want to have to apply it individually to each row - maybe I need to create the formula once and drag it down? (Copy conditional formatting?) because I have hundreds of rows similar to what is shown above.

    (I'm more familiar with google sheets, and this seems much easier to accomplish in gsheets...)

    Thanks again for any help!

  31. Hi there I am trying to use conditional formatting where I want the cell to appear yellow based on a true result. If user selects "Y" from the drop down list in cell A1; B1 is prompted the user to enter name of authority; C1 cell should go yellow to indicate this needs filling. Is C1 that I want to be formatting based on on the result of B1 being true. Can you advise?

    Regards

    Abs

  32. hi

    I have some values in b5:b14 currency format, the same way C5:c14 date format. I need recently increased amount, which is increased and which date.
    so please suggest which formula I can use for the scenarios.
    Example 1 :
    amount date
    100 01/01/16
    50 02/02/16
    100 03/02/16
    100 04/01/16

    here increased value is 100 with date 03/02/16, this values I need in C4 and c5.

    amount date
    100 01/01/16
    100 02/02/16
    100 03/02/16
    100 04/01/16

    here there is no any changes in amount so it should be 100 with 01/01/16 in C4 and c5.

  33. Hi friends,
    Myself Mahesh, currently I am working as a hr. Can anybody tell me the usage of "format cells that rank in the top" and "format cells that rank in the bottom" in conditional formatting in excel 2010.

    Regards
    Mahesh

  34. I'm working on a spreadsheet for forecasting staffing. There is an "open headcount" row in several portions of the spreadsheet, and I want to create a formula that will highlight only the cells in the "open headcount" rows where a number > zero has been entered. I know I could manually apply that condition to each one of those rows, but I want to be able to apply to the entire spreadsheet at once.

    Appreciate any help!

  35. You have already assisted someone with this question, but I'm unable to get the formula offered to work.

    Example: When I type "At Home" into cell B4, I need I4 to show "Adnan".
    Formula used: AND=($B4="At Home", $I4="Adnan")

    Can you help?

  36. I'm attempting to color cells that are dates only. if an alpha based word or statement appears I want it to ignore those. Is there a way to have it look for numbers only? i.e-. 07/12/2016 (shaded), Tom (Not shaded).

    But without creating a rule for EVERY word I want excluded from the shading rule?

    I guess what I'm looking for is a symbol or code phrase that tells it to look for "all text" or "all number".

  37. i wish to format a row based on the condition that the cell in the row on total probability is less than 20 and the total consequences is less than 23

  38. Hi there.

    I have a probably not too tricky question, but I am not so familiar with conditional formatting.
    I want to format my dataset (22x12 values) with the 3 color rule, but based on the values of another dataset. So that the color can be used as additional information. Can you help me with that?

    Thanks a lot for your help!

  39. I have 5 week calendars and the first week show the previous month dates and the first line have merge 5 cell when I have the days for 7 days start Sunday and the second line I have 10 cell/box where i have different information. I need to do a month calendar and transfer all the week information star the the first on the month.

    Do you know How I can automatic transfer the information? (Formula)

  40. Hi,
    I have a tab with hundreds of rows, and there is a column with job title and the next column is a salary (tab 1). Those jobs are linked from another tab with salary (tab 2) this is my source tab. I would like that when I change the job title on tab 1, that the salary (next column) also changes (it would get its data from tab 2). Tab 2 is static, but tab 1 is dynamic. Not certain how to write a formula or would I need something else, a macro ? Thanks

  41. Hi ,

    Can you help me know how to highlight particular cell using conditional formating or any other method for functions
    I just want to highlight particular column cell with reference to previous column cell.

    for eg :
    A B C
    1 3,000 3,500 3,200
    2 3,200 3,300 3,400
    So here B1>A1.so B1.i.e 3500 should be highlighted.
    similarly B2>A1, so B2 should be highlighted.
    Similarly C2.
    So the formula should be applied to entire sheet

  42. Dear sir,

    I list down a simplified data table for reference for my question as follow:

    A B C D E
    S.no Name Profession Groupings Days of report
    1 AAA Specialist 5

    I want to highlight Name cell(AAA) by conditional formatting if Profession =Specialist, Day of report >=5.

    However, it does not work. May I know what is the problem. Your advice please.

    Regards.
    Michael

    The formula I use: AND($B2="Specialist;$E2>=5)

  43. Hi,

    I'm trying to set up conditional formatting that will put a number in a different cell depending on the colour (contents of another cell).

    For instance, if % are below 33% then the cell goes red, between 33% and 66% it goes orange, and above 66% it goes green. What I want from this is that it will fill in the next cell with a letter based upon those percentages. Is that possible?

    Thanks in advance.

  44. I am trying to format dispatch time against actual time. example: Column $AD$6 has Target Dispatch time of 15:45, column $AE$6 will have actual dispatch time of 22:08. If actual dispatch time is greater than Target Dispatch time, I would like to fill with red.

  45. Hello,

    I am sorry if this has been asked earlier, but i could not find it, neither here nor on google. is there a way to compare cells in column A to their respective cells in column B, and color the cell green if the numbers are the same, and red of they are not? SO, if A1 reads 3, and B1 reads 3, i want B1 to color green. and the same for A2 and B2, A3 and B3, and so on. i could just do it cell by cell, but that would take days, and i cannot find a quicker way to do it. even with a macro, doing it cell by cell would take ages i think.... I am using Excel 2013.

    Thanks a lot in advance!

    1. Hi RengerD,

      Please try to do the following:

      1. Select a range in column B. For example B1:B4.
      2. Click Conditional Formatting -> New Rule.
      3. Select the "Use a formula to determine which cells to format".
      4. In the Formula field type "B1=A1".
      5. Click the Format button to set the format you need.
      6. Click OK.

  46. Excel 2010 conditional formatting.

    I cannot copy my conditional formatting down the rows, I need my row reference to change i.e. A1 to A2, A3 etc. but it retains at absolute reference A1 when I copy it down the rows. When I try to remove the dollar sign in edit rule, it automatically adds the dollar sign back. The rule I am using is:
    Format only cells that contain.
    Cell value not between:
    =$A$1 and =$A$2, (Have test reference number here)
    When I copy this down, the rows $A$1 and $A$2 remain absolute where I need them to change to reflect the row numbers I have copied to, removing the dollar sign has no effect as it just defaults back to dollar within the rule.

    Thanks in anticipation.

    1. Hi Dave F,

      I've tried on my Virtual PC with Excel 2010 and everything works as expected.
      To be able to assist you better please describe your task in more detail.

  47. Good Afternoon,

    Would you be able to assist with this situation ?

    I have two columns..

    The first column has bill id. The second has line id.

    What I need to do is find replicating or non consecutive line id only if the bill id is the same.

    For example IF THE left column has the same value, it should start at one and end at the last same number. 5555 should be 1 2 3 and it should start over at 5556 at 1, 2, 3…..

    5555 1 TRUE
    5555 2 TRUE
    5555 2 FALSE
    5556 1 TRUE
    5556 2 TRUE
    5556 3 TRUE
    55111 1 TRUE
    55111 1 FALSE
    55222 2 FALSE
    55333 1 TRUE
    55333 5 FALSE

    THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP

  48. Hi i am new to Excel sheets and having trouble in creating dependent dropdown list for columns

  49. Hi,
    I'm trying to use conditional formatting to format cells that go over 6 months and 12 months.
    All cells have different dates and it's not based on today's date. It's based on a meeting date?

    1. Hi Catherine,

      Please try to do the following:

      1. Select a range in column A. For example A1:A10.
      2. Click Conditional Formatting -> New Rule.
      3. Select the "Use a formula to determine which cells to format".
      4. In the Formula field type the following formula:
      =OR($A1 > DATE(YEAR($B$1), MONTH($B$1)+6, DAY($B$1+$A$1)), $A1 < DATE(YEAR($B$1), MONTH($B$1)-6, DAY($B$1)))
      5. Click the Format button to set the format you need.
      6. Click OK.

      The date values in A1:A10. The meeting date is in B1.

  50. I want my D column to highlight red under conditional formatting if it is more than 14 days after/later than column c.

    Can this be done on conditional formatting? and if so what would the answer be?

    Thank you.

    1. Hi Lauren Dicker,

      Please try to do the following:

      1. Select a range in column D. For example D1:D10.
      2. Click Conditional Formatting -> New Rule.
      3. Select the "Use a formula to determine which cells to format".
      4. In the Formula field type the following formula:
      =ABS(DAYS(D1,C1))>14
      5. Click the Format button to set the format you need.
      6. Click OK.

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