You can conditionally format your data in order to draw attention to outliers and quickly assess how significant your data points are. Conditional formatting can be used to highlight interesting cells, emphasize unusual values, and visualize data using data bars, color scales, and icon sets based on specific criteria.
Excel has several built in conditions you should explore.
To apply conditional formatting to a cell or range:
- Select the cells you want to format.
- Go to the Home tab.
- Click the Conditional Formatting dropdown button.
- Select the type of formatting you want.
- Select the sub-type of formatting you want.
- Enter any value and formatting specifications, if needed.
- Click OK (if you are in a dialog box).
To edit conditional formatting:
- Go to the Home tab.
- Click the Conditional Formatting dropdown button. Click on Manage Rules – this will open up the Rules Manager dialog box.
- Here you can Edit Rule, create New Rule, and Delete Rule.
- Once you are finished click OK.
To remove conditional formatting:
- Go to the Home tab.
- Click the Conditional Formatting dropdown button.
- Click on Clear Rules.
- Choose to clear rules from the selected cells or from the entire sheet.
With this tool at your disposal, you can quickly determine the top 10% paid based on salary, compare the highest and lowest data figures at a glance, and so much more. Play around with a workbook you frequently use to discover countless applications for conditional formatting!
