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CHAPTER
Visualizing Data
Using Conditional
Formatting
IN THIS CHAPTER
An overview of Excel’s
conditional formatting
featureHow to use the graphical
conditional formatsExamples of using conditional
formatting formulasTips for using conditional
formattingT
his chapter explores conditional formatting, one of Excel’s most ver-
satile features. You can apply conditional formatting to a cell so that
the cell looks different, depending on its contents.Microsoft made significant enhancements to conditional formatting in Excel
2007, and it’s now a useful tool for visualizing numeric data. You’ll find a
few more conditional formatting improvements in Excel 2010.
About Conditional Formatting
Conditional formatting enables you to apply cell formatting selectively and
automatically, based on the contents of the cells. For example, you can set
things up so that all negative values in a range have a light-yellow back-
ground color. When you enter or change a value in the range, Excel exam-
ines the value and checks the conditional formatting rules for the cell. If the
value is negative, the background is shaded. If not, no formatting is applied.
Conditional formatting is a useful way to quickly identify erroneous cell
entries or cells of a particular type. You can use a format (such as bright-red
cell shading) to make particular cells easy to identify.
Figure 20.1 shows a worksheet with nine ranges, each with a different type
of conditional formatting rule applied. Here’s a brief explanation of each:
l Greater than 10: Values greater than 10 are highlighted with a dif-
ferent background color. This rule is just one of many numeric
value related rules that you can apply.l (^) Above average: Values that are higher than the average value are
highlighted.