How To Use Conditional Formatting In Google Sheets (Fast & Easy), by Digital Commerce on YouTube. 2 min 36 s.
- Video length
- 2 min 36 s
- Time to do it
- 10 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 10
What you need
Steps
Open your spreadsheet in Google Sheets and select the cells you want to style. Drag across a column or range such as B2:B50, or click the column letter to grab the whole column.
Click Format in the top menu, then choose Conditional formatting. A panel opens on the right side of the sheet.
Check the range shown under Apply to range. Click the grid icon or type the range yourself if it is wrong, and add more ranges with Add another range.
Under Format rules, open the Format cells if dropdown. Pick a condition such as Greater than, Less than, Is between, Text contains or Is not empty.
Type your value in the box that appears. For example, enter 100 for Greater than to catch everything above 100, or type a word for Text contains.
Set the look under Formatting style. Choose bold or italic text, a text colour and a background fill colour so the matched cells stand out.
Click Done to save the rule. The colours appear on your cells straight away, and the rule is listed in the panel on the right.
Click Add another rule to stack a second condition, such as red for values under 50 and green for values over 100. Order matters, so the first matching rule wins unless you reorder them.
For a gradient instead of single colours, choose Color scale in the Format rules tab. Set minimum, midpoint and maximum colours to shade low to high values.
To change or remove a rule later, open Format, then Conditional formatting, hover over the rule and click the pencil icon to edit it or the trash icon to delete it.
Tips and common mistakes
Apply rules to a fixed range like B2:B100 rather than the entire column, so header rows and totals do not get coloured.
Use Text contains for labels and Greater than or Less than for numbers, since mixing the two gives odd results.
Stacked rules run top to bottom, so drag the most important rule to the top of the list in the panel.
Copy a formatted cell and use Paste special, then Paste format only, to carry the same rule to another range.
Questions
Does conditional formatting update when my numbers change?
Yes. The rule re-checks every time a value is edited, so colours move on their own. You do not need to reapply anything.
Why is my conditional formatting not working?
The most common cause is a wrong range, such as a rule on A2:A10 when your data sits in B. Check the Apply to range box and confirm your values are real numbers, not text.
Can I use conditional formatting on my phone?
Yes, in the Google Sheets app tap a cell, open the Format menu and choose Conditional formatting. The options are more limited than on desktop.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
