Formulas
Tip: Using Conditional Formatting and Formulas Together
Conditional formatting works great if you're looking to highlight rows based on data or values already contained in the sheet (e.g. a red background colour can appear on rows when the "status" is "overdue"). Issues can arise when you want to apply the formatting based on a comparison between two cells in the sheet. For example, if you have a "target cost" column and an "actual cost" column, and want to apply a red background colour to rows that exceed the estimate. This can't be done with conditional formatting rules alone.
That’s why we recommend using conditional formatting's greatest ally - formulas! Specifically, you will want to use an IF formula to perform the comparison between the two values, and then apply the formatting rule based on the result of the formula.









