Applying conditional formatting rules

In this section, we'll look at a few practical applications of conditional formatting.

1. Number threshold

You can compare your measures against a threshold value and apply formatting if the condition is satisfied. In this case, we've changed the font color to green if AC exceeds 25m or the previous year's variance exceeds 4m.

Setting a rule based on a number threshold

2. Column comparisons

You can compare two columns from your data, E.g. Sales versus Forecast, and apply conditional formatting if the condition is satisfied.

Charts

Let's highlight the quarters where the Actuals exceed the Plan and the Previous year's actuals.

Tables

In this example, we have highlighted the cells in light blue when AC exceeds the previous year's actuals.

Conditional formatting based on comparing values

3. Calculated comparisons

In the condition, you can apply simple calculations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

Charts

Let's highlight the bullets where the Actuals exceed 98% of the Plan.

Conditional formatting based on column comparisons in a chart

Tables

In this table, we've highlighted the cells in green when AC is greater than 98% of the plan.

Calculated comparisons

We'll look at color scales in the next section.