Which group on the home tab contains the commands to apply a conditional format?

Use Conditional Formatting in Excel with Formulas to Highlight Errors, Blanks and Duplicates

by Avantix Learning Team | Updated April 7, 2021

Applies to: Microsoft® Excel® 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019 and 365 (Windows)

Conditional formatting is a great tool in Excel and if you combine it with formulas, you can do some amazing things. In this article, we'll use some simple examples to show the power of conditional formatting.

Conditional Formatting appears on the Home tab in the Ribbon in the Styles group.

You can apply conditional formatting using a formula and a new rule. Below is a sample of a rule with a formula:

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Highlighting errors using conditional formatting

You can use conditional formatting to highlight errors in a range of cells.

In example below, there are errors in column C:

To highlight the errors using conditional formatting:

1. Select the range of cells in a column where some of the cells contain errors. In this example, select C2 to C10 .
2. Click the Home tab in the Ribbon and select Conditional Formatting in the Styles group. A drop-down menu appears.
3. Select New Rule from the drop-down menu. A dialog box appears.
4. Click Use a formula to determine which cells to format. In the formula box, enter =ISERROR(active cell reference). In this example, enter =ISERROR(C2). Enter the formula for the first cell in the range. Excel uses relative referencing by default so the formula will be copied down and adjusted for the remaining cells.
5. Click Format. A dialog box appears.
6. Click the Fill tab and select a light fill.
7. Click OK twice.

Highlighting blanks using conditional formatting

You can use conditional formatting to highlight blanks in a range of cells.

In the example below, there are blanks in column C:

To highlight the blanks using conditional formatting:

1. Select the range of cells in the column where some of the cells contain blanks. In this example, select C2 to C10.
2. Click the Home tab in the Ribbon and select Conditional Formatting in the Styles group. A drop-down menu appears.
3. Select New Rule from the menu. A dialog box appears.
4. Click Use a formula to determine which cells to format. In the formula box, enter =ISBLANK(active cell reference). In this example, enter =ISBLANK(C2). Enter the formula for the first cell in the range. Excel uses relative referencing by default so the formula will be copied down and adjusted for the remaining cells.
5. Click Format. A dialog box appears.
6. Click the Fill tab and select a light fill.
7. Click OK twice.

Highlighting duplicates using conditional formatting

You can also use conditional formatting to highlight duplicates in a range of cells.

In the example below, there are duplicates in column A:

To apply conditional formatting to highlight the duplicates:

1. Select the range of cells in the column where some of the cells contain duplicates. In this example, select A2 to A10.
2. Click the Home tab in the Ribbon and select Conditional Formatting in the Styles group. A drop-down menu appears.
3. Select New Rule from the menu. A dialog box appears.
4. Click Use a formula to determine which cells to format. In the formula box, enter =COUNTIF(absolute range,cell containing criteria)>1. In this example, enter =COUNTIF($A$2:$A$10,A2)>1. Enter the formula for the range of cells using absolute referencing (since this range should not change) and for the cell holding the criteria using relative referencing and refer to the active cell. Excel will then copy the formula down and adjust for the remaining cells.
5. Click Format. A dialog box appears.
6. Click the Fill tab and select a light fill.
7. Click OK twice.

These are just a few examples of conditional formatting with formulas. You can use all kinds of other formulas in rules to format cells.

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