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Excel 2016 -12-Conditional Formatting

The document provides a guide on using conditional formatting in Excel 2016 to visualize data trends and patterns. It explains how to create rules for formatting cells based on their values, apply preset styles, and remove or manage existing formatting rules. Additionally, it includes a challenge to practice applying conditional formatting to a worksheet of grades.

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5 views11 pages

Excel 2016 -12-Conditional Formatting

The document provides a guide on using conditional formatting in Excel 2016 to visualize data trends and patterns. It explains how to create rules for formatting cells based on their values, apply preset styles, and remove or manage existing formatting rules. Additionally, it includes a challenge to practice applying conditional formatting to a worksheet of grades.

Uploaded by

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Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Excel 2016 -

Conditional Formatting
Let's say you have a worksheet with thousands of rows of data. It would be
extremely difficult to see patterns and trends just from examining the raw
information. Similar to charts and sparklines, conditional
formatting provides another way to visualize data and make worksheets
easier to understand.

Optional: Download our practice workbook.

Watch the video below to learn more about conditional formatting in Excel.

Understanding conditional formatting


Conditional formatting allows you to automatically apply formatting—such
as colors, icons, and data bars—to one or more cells based on the cell value.
To do this, you'll need to create a conditional formatting rule. For example,
a conditional formatting rule might be: If the value is less than $2000, color
the cell red. By applying this rule, you'd be able to quickly see which cells
contain values less than $2000.
To create a conditional formatting rule:
In our example, we have a worksheet containing sales data, and we'd like to
see which salespeople are meeting their monthly sales goals. The sales goal
is $4000 per month, so we'll create a conditional formatting rule for any cells
containing a value higher than 4000.

1. Select the desired cells for the conditional formatting


rule.

2. From the Home tab, click the Conditional


Formatting command. A drop-down menu will appear.
3. Hover the mouse over the desired conditional
formatting type, then select the desired rule from the
menu that appears. In our example, we want to highlight
cells that are greater than $4000.
4. A dialog box will appear. Enter the desired value(s) into
the blank field. In our example, we'll enter 4000 as our
value.
5. Select a formatting style from the drop-down menu. In
our example, we'll choose Green Fill with Dark Green
Text, then click OK.

6. The conditional formatting will be applied to the selected


cells. In our example, it's easy to see which salespeople
reached the $4000 sales goal for each month.
You can apply multiple conditional formatting rules to a cell range or
worksheet, allowing you to visualize different trends and patterns in your
data.
Conditional formatting presets
Excel has several predefined styles—or presets—you can use to quickly apply
conditional formatting to your data. They are grouped into three categories:

• Data Bars are horizontal bars added to each cell, much


like a bar graph.

• Color Scales change the color of each cell based on its


value. Each color scale uses a two- or three-color
gradient. For example, in the Green-Yellow-Red color
scale, the highest values are green, the average values
are yellow, and the lowest values are red.
• Icon Sets add a specific icon to each cell based on its
value.

To use preset conditional formatting:


1. Select the desired cells for the conditional formatting
rule.

2. Click the Conditional Formatting command. A drop-


down menu will appear.
3. Hover the mouse over the desired preset, then choose
a preset style from the menu that appears.

4. The conditional formatting will be applied to the selected


cells.
Removing conditional formatting
To remove conditional formatting:
1. Click the Conditional Formatting command. A drop-
down menu will appear.
2. Hover the mouse over Clear Rules, and choose which
rules you want to clear. In our example, we'll select Clear
Rules from Entire Sheet to remove all conditional
formatting from the worksheet.
3. The conditional formatting will be removed.
Click Manage Rules to edit or delete individual rules. This is especially useful
if you've applied multiple rules to a worksheet.

Challenge!
1. Open our practice workbook.
2. Click the Challenge worksheet tab in the bottom-left of
the workbook.
3. Select cells B3:J17.
4. Let's say you're the teacher and want to easily see all of
the grades that are below passing. Apply Conditional
Formatting so it Highlights Cells containing values Less
Than 70 with a light red fill.
5. Now you want to see how the grades compare to each
other. Under the Conditional Formatting tab, select
the Icon Set called 3 Symbols (Circled). Hint: The
names of the icon sets will appear when you hover over
them.
6. Your spreadsheet should look like this:
7. Using the Manage Rules feature, remove the light red fill,
but keep the icon set.

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