How to Hide 1900 Dates in Cells with Dates Entered Previous Cell

Article: Conditional Formatting with Google Sheets

Google Sheets is a powerful online spreadsheet program that allows users to organize, analyze, and visualize data. One of the useful features of Google Sheets is the conditional formatting tool, which can be used to highlight cells based on specific criteria. In this article, we will explore how to use conditional formatting in Google Sheets, including the use of formulas to customize the conditions.

What is Conditional Formatting?

Conditional formatting is a feature in spreadsheet programs, including Google Sheets, that allows users to automatically apply formatting, such as colors, fonts, and borders, to cells based on certain conditions. For example, you could use conditional formatting to highlight all cells that contain a value greater than 100, or to change the background color of cells based on the date they were entered.

How to Use Conditional Formatting in Google Sheets

To use conditional formatting in Google Sheets, follow these steps:

1. Select the range of cells you want to format.
2. Click on the Format menu, then select Conditional formatting.
3. In the conditional formatting rules panel, select the Format cells if dropdown, then choose the condition you want to apply.
4. Define the condition by selecting a comparison operator (<, >, =, etc.) and entering the value or formula you want to compare the cells to.
5. Choose the formatting style you want to apply to the cells that meet the condition.
6. Click Done to apply the conditional formatting.

Using Formulas in Conditional Formatting

In addition to using predefined conditions, you can use formulas to customize the conditions for conditional formatting. This is useful when you want to apply formatting based on complex criteria, such as comparing multiple cells or calculating a value.

For example, let's say you want to hide cells in column E that contain a date entered before 1900. You can use the following formula in the conditional formatting rules:

This formula checks if the cell in column E is not empty (E4<>"") and if the number of days between the date in the cell and today's date is 30 (E4-TODAY()=30). If both conditions are true, the formatting will be applied.

Conditional formatting is a powerful feature in Google Sheets that can help you organize, analyze, and visualize data. By using formulas in conditional formatting, you can customize the conditions to fit your specific needs. With practice, you can become proficient in using conditional formatting to improve the efficiency and accuracy of your data analysis.

References

• Google Sheets Help: Conditional formatting
• Exceljet: Conditional Formatting with Formulas
• Ablebits: Conditional Formatting in Google Sheets