Conditional formatting with multiple conditions in Excel allows you to apply different formatting styles or rules to cells based on specific criteria.
It proves useful when you want to analyze and highlight data that meets complex conditions or combinations of conditions.
Multiple Conditions (And) – Excel & Google Sheets
Conditional formatting is a powerful feature in both Excel and Google Sheets that allows you to apply formatting rules to cells based on specific conditions.
By using multiple conditions with the “AND” operator, you can create complex rules to highlight or format data that meets all specified criteria simultaneously.
This tutorial will guide you through the process of applying conditional formatting with multiple conditions using the “AND” operator in Excel and Google Sheets.
Step 1: Select the Range: Start by selecting the range of cells where you want to apply conditional formatting. Click and drag the cursor over the desired cells to highlight them.
Step 2: Open the Conditional Formatting Menu: In Excel, go to the Home tab and click on the “Conditional Formatting” button in the Styles group.
From the dropdown menu, select “New Rule.” In Google Sheets, go to the Format menu, hover over “Conditional formatting,” and choose “Add new rule.”
Step 3: Choose the Condition: In the conditional formatting dialogue box, select the option “Use a formula to determine which cells to format.”
Step 4: Build the Formula: To apply multiple conditions using the “AND” operator, construct a formula that combines the conditions using the logical “AND” function. The general syntax for an AND formula is: =AND(condition1, condition2, …).
For example, suppose we want to highlight cells in the selected range where values are greater than 50 and less than 100. The formula would be: =AND(A1>50, A1<100)
Step 5: Set the Formatting Style: Specify the formatting style you want to apply to cells that meet all the conditions. In Excel, click the “Format” button and choose the desired formatting options like font color, fill color, etc. In Google Sheets, select the formatting style directly from the dropdown menu.
Step 6: Apply the Formatting Rule: Click “OK” to apply the conditional formatting rule with multiple conditions. The selected cells will now be formatted based on the specified criteria.
Step 7: Test and Modify: Test your conditional formatting by entering values that meet or do not meet the specified conditions. The formatting will adjust accordingly. If needed, you can modify the formula or formatting style by selecting the cells and editing the conditional formatting rule.
Example
Suppose you have a sales dataset with values in Column A representing the sales amounts. You want to highlight cells where the sales amount is greater than 1000 and less than 5000. Follow the steps below:
Step 1: Select the Data Range: Select the range of cells in Column A where you want to apply conditional formatting. Click on the column header to select the entire column.
Step 2: Open the Conditional Formatting Menu: Go to the Home tab, click on the “Conditional Formatting” button in the Styles group, and choose “New Rule.”
Step 3: Choose the Condition: In the New Formatting Rule dialog box, choose “Use a formula to determine which cells to format.”
Step 4: Build the Formula: In the formula bar, enter the following formula: =AND(A1>1000, A1<5000)
This formula checks if the value in cell A1 is greater than 1000 and less than 5000.
Step 5: Set the Formatting Style: Click the “Format” button, and choose the desired formatting options, such as font color, cell fill color, etc., to define how the highlighted cells should appear.
Step 6: Apply the Formatting Rule: Click “OK” to apply the conditional formatting rule for multiple conditions. The selected cells in Column A that meet the specified criteria will now be formatted according to your defined style.
Step 7: Test and Modify: Enter different values in the sales column (Column A) to test the conditional formatting. Cells that meet both conditions (values between 1000 and 5000) will be highlighted based on the formatting style you selected.
You can modify the formula or formatting style by selecting the cells and editing the conditional formatting rule as needed.
A Real Example of Using Conditional Formatting with Multiple Conditions in Excel
Conditional formatting is a powerful feature in Microsoft Excel that allows you to automatically format cells based on specific conditions.
Applying conditional formatting with multiple conditions enables you to highlight or format cells that meet multiple criteria simultaneously.
Example Scenario: Let’s say you work in a human resources department, and you have a spreadsheet containing employee data. One of the tasks is to identify employees who have exceeded their allocated vacation days and are also late for work frequently.
We can use conditional formatting with multiple conditions to easily spot these employees.
Step 1: Prepare the Data: Ensure that your data is organized in a structured manner. Create columns for employee names, allocated vacation days, actual vacation days taken, and the number of times an employee has been late for work.
Step 2: Select the Data Range: Choose the range of cells that you want to apply conditional formatting to. It could be the entire row or just specific columns, depending on your needs.
Step 3: Open the Conditional Formatting Menu: Go to the “Home” tab in Excel and click on the “Conditional Formatting” button in the “Styles” group. From the drop-down menu, select “New Rule.”
Step 4: Define the First Condition: In the “New Formatting Rule” dialog box, select “Use a formula to determine which cells to format.” Enter the first condition in the formula bar.
For our example, let’s assume that allocated vacation days are in column C, and actual vacation days taken are in column D. We want to highlight employees who have exceeded their allocated vacation days. The formula would be: =D2>C2.
This formula checks if the value in the actual vacation days column (D) is greater than the value in the allocated vacation days column (C) for each employee.
Step 5: Set the Formatting Style for the First Condition: Click on the “Format” button and choose the desired formatting options to highlight employees who have exceeded their allocated vacation days. For instance, you can choose a bold font or a red fill color.
Step 6: Add the Second Condition: To add the second condition of frequent lateness, click on the “New Rule” button again. Repeat step 4 to enter the formula in the formula bar.
Let’s assume that the number of times an employee has been late is in column E, and we want to highlight employees who have been late more than five times. The formula would be: =E2>5
This formula checks if the value in the late count column (E) is greater than 5 for each employee.
Step 7: Set the Formatting Style for the Second Condition: Once again, click on the “Format” button and choose the desired formatting options to highlight employees who have been late frequently.
You can select a different style from the first condition to differentiate between the two conditions. For example, you can use a yellow fill color or italic font.
Step 8: Finalize the Conditional Formatting Rules: After setting up both conditions and their respective formatting styles, click “OK” to apply the conditional formatting rules to the selected range of cells.
