Comments on: How to work with conditional formatting in Google Sheets

Learn how to use conditional formatting in Google Sheets. This guide covers everything from setting basic formatting rules based on numbers, text, dates, and other cell values, to using custom formulas for cases like deadlines or specific values. By setting up format rules tailored to your unique needs, you’ll save time, reduce errors, and make the most important details stand out. Continue reading →

Comments page 3. Total comments: 161

  1. Hi,
    I would like to ask 1 question. when doing a conditional formating,
    for the format rules, can i use text that contains "a range"
    for example, my data range is D2:D50, and i want to highlight cells that has duplicates/ names that are found in range D60:D70.
    Is that possible??? have been trying to solve this for 2 days
    thank you so much...

  2. I am trying to format an entire row to become a color if a particular cell is not empty. My research indicates that the formula that is supposed to work for this is =$H4034" ", (4034 is the row I'm in at the moment) but it isn't working, possibly because there is already another formula (for how a date needs to look) for the whole spreadsheet...? Because of this, I've tried any number of formulas based on how a date looks when entered, using numbers, using the "/" symbol, using "?" & "*", and I can't get any of them to work. Please help. I've been trying to figure this out for a week, and I'm at my wits end.

    1. Alex,

      you should be able to color entire rows where H contains data with this formula for conditional formatting:
      =$H1<>""

      Make sure to apply the rule to your entire table, for example, $A1:$H5000.

  3. I would like to be able to colour a whole row based on a date in one cell. I want the row highlighted if the date in one of the cells is before 3 years ago today.
    Thanks.

    1. Suppose your table is in A2:J11, with dates in column J. Here's the formula for your conditional formatting rule:
      =DATEDIF($J2,NOW(),"y")=3

      Pick the color to highlight rows and apply the rule to the range &A2:&J11.

  4. Do you know of a way to make a list from formatted cells? I am trying to create a new list from highlighted cells in a column.

    1. Hi JD,

      Unfortunately, you won't be able to do that with the standard Google Sheets features. You need to create a script or look for a special add-on. But I'm afraid we don't have a tool for this task.

  5. Hello,

    I am trying to organize a table of data with cells that contain both numbers and words. Each cell has datum similar to: "25.5 Minutes". I would like to highlight all cells that have more than 120 Minutes, but cant seem to find a way. Any help would be most appreciated!

    1. Hello Dillon,

      Assuming your values are in column A, use the following formula in the Conditional formatting rule:
      =(LEFT(A1:A3,FIND(" ",A1:A3)-1)*1)>=120

  6. Excellent article !!

  7. I got lost about "$3" of the "=$E2>=$H$3" I understand the "if E2>= H" but what the "$3" means? Why not simply "=$E2>=$H2"?

    1. We compare all cells in column H with one and the same cell - H3. The dollar sign makes sure of that: it doesn't allow the reference to change the number to H4, for example, when comparing with E4.
      You can read more about types of cell references here.

  8. I need to find and remove duplicates from my google sheet. The formula provided does not seem to work. The instructions are confusing. I wish someone could explain it to me like I was a 12-year-old. Very frustrating. =countif(A:A,A1)>1. I need it for column C so =countif(A:A,C1)>1?

    1. Hi Rob,

      What formula did you use? If I'm correct, none of them is for finding duplicates in this article.
      Your first formula will check if a value from A1 appears in column A. Your second formula will scan column A for the record from C1.

      Perhaps, this article will answer your question in a way. If not, feel free to check the tutorial for Excel. Most of the formulas will work for Google Sheets as well.

  9. How do I format a cell to change colour if it is still empty after a certain day.
    For example I want it to turn red 28days after 07/01/2019 if the cell is still empty.

    1. Supposing a cell to change the color is A2. Try this formula in your conditional formatting:
      =AND(ISBLANK(A2),(TODAY()>(DATE(2019,7,1)+28)))

  10. Hi,

    I have a gantt chart and I'm trying to show coverage in main headers for the gantt chart when there is a different color cell. So for example,

    row D5:BD7 and I want to highlight row 5 when there is a colored cell in rows 6 and 7. So let's assume that row 5 will be orange, and there is orange colored in G6:P6, AM6:AQ6 and there is orange colored I7:M7, R7:Y7, AG7:BC7.

    How do I put in conditional formatting to make this happen in row 5?

    Thanks!

    1. Hi,

      I'm sorry, I don't believe it's possible with standard Google Sheets tools. This would require formulas to identify colors in cells.
      I think you'll need to use scripts to solve this task.

  11. Okay I have a weird thing going on: Anytime I type the word "Lenten" or "Lent" in a cell, it turns green. There are no conditional formatting active on the entire spreadsheet. Any ideas?

    1. You're searching for "lent", so when you type it into a cell it is showing up green because it's highlighting the search term. Everyone does this at some point. Some of us do it more than once. :)

  12. Hi,
    Thanks for the great help to various questions. I have created a simple "To do" list for my office tasks. As soon as a task row is completed, I have set conditional formatting to strike how that task and mark status and percentage in status and progress columns.
    This works for the tasks that are of one time like "Defining Scope of the project". However, in case of recurring tasks like "Send the weekly Status reports", what I am looking for is - as soon as one row for the task "Weekly Status Reports" is Striked out as completed, another normal row of the same content is inserted below it (by same content I mean the content which was there before being striked out, the percentage set to blank and status also set to blank) (by normal I mean which is not striked out). I want to do this since this will be a recurring task.
    Please can you help me on this?

  13. Dear Sir,
    Please Suggest me how i can apply Conditional formatting as per below given data:
    A B C D
    RE-ORDER LEVEL MIN STOCK LEVEL Max Stock Level NEED COLOR CODING BY
    CONDITIONAL FORMATTING FOR
    A,B,C

    Regards
    Trivedi Singh

  14. hi, in excel there is a function that help us to find values replicated, but in drive i cant find this options... help please

    1. Hi, Daniel,

      Most of the functions that work in Excel work in Google Sheets as well.
      You can try building the formulas described in this blog post to find replicated data in your spreadsheet.

      Alternatively, we have a special add-on designed to look for duplicate and unique values in Google Sheets. It's called Remove Duplicates. You can evaluate the tool for 30 days for free and see if it works for you.

      Hope you'll find these tips useful.

  15. Is it possible yet to highlight just text within a cell, not the whole cell in Google sheets?

    1. Thank you for your question, Patricia.

      Conditional formatting in Google Sheets lets you change not only the background color of cells but also font color.
      When you set the rule, simply pick the color you need using the Text color tool (the icon with "A") and make sure the Fill color is set to None.

      Hope this helps.

  16. need help please with following

    column A Column B Column C
    1 Monday Site 1 employee 1
    2 Monday Site 2 employee 2
    3 Monday Site 3 employee 2
    4 Tuesday Site 1 employee 1
    5 Tuesday Site 2 employee 2
    6 Tuesday Site 3 employee 3
    7 Wednesday Site 1 employee 3
    8 Wednesday Site 2 employee 1
    9 Wednesday Site 3 employee 2

    how do i make c3 change colour in google sheets because it matches as employee cant be assigned to two sites in one day

  17. Hi,

    Great post. Any chance when you do your formatting to sort the value by colors. In other word get for exemple all your green values at the top and the rest following.. thanks a lot!

  18. Hello! Hoping you can help.
    I am trying to organize a large event (reunion). I have everyone's name typed in to a spreadsheet and a google form linking to their responses of coming or not coming. As they fill out this form, is there a way to have their name turn green on the master list of names, so that I can easily see who has not answered the google form? Rather than having to go through each name and manually check it off the master list? Thanks!

  19. Can you use "AND" statements in Custom Formulas for conditional formatting.

    I am trying to conditional format based on two conditions, e.g.
    If (A2 = "text") AND (B2>indirect("sheet1!A2))

    I tried the following:
    =AND(F2="Lower", E2>Indirect("Summary!H$2)) But seems to give an error?

    Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

    Thanks

    1. Hello, Damien,

      AND can be used in conditional formatting, and the formula you use looks fine.

      I kindly ask you to share your sample spreadsheet with us (gapps.ablebits@gmail.com) where your custom formula doesn't work.

      We'll look into the file and do our best to advice you.

  20. Hey,

    Currently, I am using conditional formatting to color a cell based on the number from a different cell. I need to do a total of 4 colors for 4 set of range so I am using custom conditional formatting for each range. For some reason, only 3 of my 4 conditions are working. how can I fix this problem and also, is there a simpler way of doing such a format?

  21. I was able to do a conditional formatting for an entire row by doing =$E1="Speech" however this is only highlighting rows where the cell equals "speech" and I would like to do it for all that CONTAIN "speech" is this possible?

    1. Hello, Joanna,

      Please try to use the following formula in the Custom Formula field instead of the one you mentioned:
      =COUNTIF($E1,"*speech*")>0

      Hope this helps!

  22. How to apply conditional formatting in colums for duplicate text with different color (same as color scale, but for text)

  23. I have a code that timestamps when i make a change to a cell, i now want to doa conditional format that an hour after that timestamp it turns red so it stands out for me to follow up.

    also when i am creating conditional formats when i delete a row it mess's up which cells it does on "apply to range"

  24. Hello,

    I have a list of student in columns B and C (last name in B, first name in C).
    I have checkboxes in column A. I want the students names to turn red when the checkbox is not checked (ie, it has a value of "FALSE).
    I have set the range in the conditional formatting as B3:C58, becuase that's where the list is, then I select "text contains", and type =A3:A="FALSE".
    However, nothing is happening when I do this, even though there are many unchecked (ie, "FALSE) checkboxes in column A.
    Please advise!

    1. Menachem:
      Are each of the checkboxes linked to another cell?
      If not, link the cells to another cell and format that cell based on it's True or False condition. If that works, you should be able to change the color of the cells containing the names based on the value of the cells that contain True or False.

  25. Hi,

    I am trying to create a traffic light system that transfers a Green from master page 1 to Green on page 2 and 3.

    I am using formula =IF("Page 1!D5"="Green",1,0) and format green works great for single cell.

    When I try =IF("Page 1!D5:D10"="Green",1,0) I get no formatting even if all cells are Green. Is there a way to make this work.

    I have 3 conditional formats so Amber and Red also

    KR

    Derek

    1. the section above on INDIRECT has the answer you seek. I do this sort of thing all the time. Try This:
      =IF(INDIRECT("'Page 1'!D5:D10")="Green",1,0)

  26. Hi there,

    I use conditional formatting on a row (ex. E4:T4) -> I need this format on every single row until E1000:T1000. If I copy and paste special (format only) i get the conditional formatting to cover the range of E4:T1000 insted of:

    E4:T4
    E5:T5
    E6:T6
    etc..
    E1000:T1000

    Is there a short cut to make the conditional formatting for every single row instead?

    Hope for help.

    BR Martin

  27. How can I create a formula so that the cell that is the greatest, second greatest and third greatest will be highlighted, each in a different color?

    For example: my list of numbers is 12, 24, 19, 10, 3, 5, 30. I want it to highlight 30 (the greatest number) in red, 24 (the second greatest) in hot pink, and 19 (the third greatest) in baby pink.

    What formula would I use/how would I do that?

    Thank you!

    1. Hello,

      If I understand your task correctly, you can make use of conditional formatting in Google Sheets described above.

      Conditional formatting allows coloring cells depending on the values they contain. However, you will need to use some formulas there to find if the number (use IF function) is the greatest, the 2nd greatest, etc. (MAX and LARGE functions).

      Hope this helps!

  28. I am trying to create a formula that will transfer a cell with all formatting saved.. IE: I have a list of names in several cells... all names are different colored, some are lined through and some cells have different background colors.... If I use ='PLAYER'!A1 the name copies over but all formatting is lost.... What formula would I use to carry all formatting to the cell I am coping into??

    1. Hello, Pam,

      I'm afraid there's no formula in Google Sheets that would transfer the formatting of one cell to the other one.

      The easiest way to copy formatting in Google Sheets is using paint format tool on the Google Sheets toolbar:
      https://support.google.com/docs/answer/161768?co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop&hl=en

      Another, though a bit more challenging way would be to create conditional formatting rules (described above) and apply them to your new cells.

  29. I have a question. is there a formula or way, where a cell changes its value when you change the value of the the other. like for example. if on cell contains 5 and the other cell with change to 0 since may desired formula is "put 0 if the value is less than or equal to 5 if not put 5"?

    thanks

  30. Hi, Alexander! Your description is excellent (clear&detailed). Thanks.
    I have only one question which is not covered above. How can I refer to a named range (i. e. cell or range)? It doesn't work for me.
    Thanks in advance for your response.
    Best regards, Gábor (Budapest, Hungary)

    1. Hello,

      I'm afraid it's impossible to use named ranges directly in conditional formatting. You need to use INDIRECT function with the named range in double quotes.

      Hope this helps!

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